2. DEFINITIONS
2.1. General definitions
The terms 'geotextile' and 'geomembrane' refer to textiles (fabrics) and
membranes used in geotechnical engineering. Fabrics and membranes
used outside the field of geotechnical engineering should not be called
geotextiles and geomembranes, even if they are identical to some
geotextiles and geomembranes. Geotechnical engineering is a part of civil
engineering and embraces the fields of soil mechanics and rock mech-
anics. In other words, geotechnical engineering deals with soils and rocks
in civil engineering construction.
Geotextiles and geomembranes have similarities and, in some applic-
ations, either can be used, as discussed in Section 4.2. Both geotextiles
and geomembranes are thin, bidimensional and flexible. In fact they are
the only construction materials having these properties, which explains
their unique success. Also, most geotextiles and geomembranes are made
from synthetic polymers, which influences in similar ways their mechanical properties and durability, as discussed in Sections 3.2 and 3.5.
Geotextiles and geomembranes have differences. Geotextiles are permeable by construction, while geomembranes are designed to have a
permeability as low as possible, as discussed in Section 3.4. In other
words, geotextiles allow or conduct fluid flow, while geomembranes
restrict fluid flow. A geotextile impregnated and/or coated with a low
permeability product, such as asphalt or a polymer, becomes a geomembrane.
There are many types of geotextiles and geomembranes, as discussed
in the following two sections.
2.2. Geotextiles
Twenty types of geotextiles are presented in Fig. 1. They are classified
according to the manufacturing process. Two broad classes of geotextiles
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