WICKING LOOP CROSS-PLANE DRAINAGE FABRIC

Abstract

A geotextile fabric includes a first weft yarn woven in a weft direction and a first warp yarn and a second warp yarn woven in a warp direction, the first warp yarn being a wicking yarn, and the second warp yarn being a wicking yarn or a non-wicking yarn, the first warp yarn forming a first loop that is woven through and extends from a first face of the woven geosynthetic fabric and across at least two of the first weft yarns to form a first gap between the first loop and first the face of the woven geosynthetic fabric.

Description

The instant invention generally is related to geosynthetic fabrics. More specifically, the instant invention is related wicking loop cross-plane drainage fabrics.

Geotextiles, also referred to geosynthetic fabrics, are used in a wide range of civil engineering systems to provide benefits of separation, reinforcement, filtration, drainage, infiltration barriers, protection, and erosion control. Typical civil structure applications involve waste containment facilities, pavements, and earth retaining structures, to name only a few. Moisture buildup beneath the civil structures can destabilize its base and cause various problems.

Geotextiles can be used to separate two layers of soil with dissimilar particle size distributions. For example, geotextiles are utilized in road construction to prevent base gravel from penetrating the soil subgrade to maintain the design thickness for the road base. In addition, the filtration function of a geotextile permits moisture flow between the drainable gravel base and the soil subgrade without fine migration into the larger pores of the gravel, which would limit its drainage capabilities.

Cross-plane or through-plane drainage through a geotextile corresponds to flow through in a direction perpendicular to its plane, which is also referred to as the fabric's permittivity. Typically, conventional geosynthetic fabrics drain moisture from soils only under saturated conditions. Under saturated conditions, moisture reaches the plane of a geosynthetic fabric, penetrates through the fabric, and flows across the plane of the fabric, which maintains base stabilization.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed herein according to one or more embodiments is a geotextile fabric includes a first weft yarn woven in a weft direction and a first warp yarn and a second warp yarn woven in a warp direction, the first warp yarn being a wicking yarn, and the second warp yarn being a wicking yarn or a non-wicking yarn, the first warp yarn forming a first loop that is woven through and extends from a first face of the woven geosynthetic fabric and across at least two of the first weft yarns to form a first gap between the first loop and first the face of the woven geosynthetic fabric.

According to other embodiments, a geotextile fabric includes a first cross machine direction yarn arranged in at any angle respective to a machine direction; and a first machine direction yarn and a second machine direction yarn in a machine direction, the first machine direction yarn being a wicking yarn, and the second machine direction yarn being a wicking yarn or a non-wicking yarn, the first machine direction yarn forming a first loop that is stitched to the geotextile fabric and extends from a first face of the geotextile fabric and across at least two of the first cross machine direction yarns to form a first gap between the first loop and the first face of the geotextile fabric.

Still yet, according to other embodiments, a method of moving water through a geotextile fabric includes providing the geotextile fabric on an a first soil layer, the geotextile fabric comprising a first weft yarn woven in a weft direction; and a first warp yarn and a second warp yarn in a warp direction; wherein each first warp yarn forms alternating woven loops on a first face and a second face of the geotextile fabric by weaving through the woven geotextile from the first face to the second face, each alternating woven loop extending across at least two of the first weft yarns to form gaps of at least 0.25 millimeters; and using the alternating loops in the woven geotextile fabric to move water from the first soil layer to a second soil layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood and the above objects as well as objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. For a fuller understanding of this disclosure and the invention described therein, reference should be made to the above and following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying figures. When reference is made to the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1A is a top view of a schematic of a wicking loop fabric;

FIG. 1B is another view of a schematic of the wicking loop fabric of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is a top view of a schematic of a wicking loop fabric;

FIG. 2B is another view of a schematic of the wicking loop fabric of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C is a wicking loop fabric;

FIG. 3A is side view of a schematic of a wicking loop fabric moving water;

FIG. 3B is a close-up view of the schematic of the wicking loop fabric moving water as shown in FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a schematic of a dewatering bag with a wicking loop fabric;

FIG. 5A illustrates a fabric roll with wicking loops stitched to one face;

FIG. 5B illustrates an enlarged top view wicking loops stitched to one face of a fabric;

FIG. 5C illustrates an enlarged bottom view of the fabric of FIG. 5B;

FIG. 6 is a schematic of capillary suction in soil;

FIG. 7 is a graph showing volumetric water content as a function of matric suction

FIG. 8 is a graph showing hydraulic conductivity as a function of matric suction (K-function);

FIG. 9 is a graph showing clear water accumulation in a beaker after formation of a filter cake;

FIG. 10 is a graph showing differential water discharge over time for geotextile fabrics;

FIG. 11 is a schematic of a soil column test;

FIG. 12 is a graph showing volumetric water content as a function of water volume;

FIG. 13 is a graph showing volumetric water content as a function of water volume;

FIG. 14 is a graph showing volumetric water content as a function of water volume;

FIG. 15 is a graph showing contact angles of water droplets on wicking loop and comparative geotextiles over time;

FIG. 16 illustrates wettability of calendared and uncalendared wicking loop fabrics;

FIG. 17A illustrates a closed pressure plate test apparatus used to measure the Soil-Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC);

FIG. 17B illustrates an open pressure plate test apparatus used to measure the Soil-Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC);

FIG. 18 illustrates the capillary rise test apparatus used to measure the Geosynthetic-Water Characteristic Curve (GWCC);

FIG. 19 illustrates the pressure plate test apparatus used to measure the Geosynthetic-Water Characteristic Curve (GWCC);

FIG. 20 illustrates the salt concentration test apparatus used to measure the Geosynthetic-Water Characteristic Curve (GWCC);

FIG. 21A illustrates water remaining on top of a non-wicking loop fabric; and

FIG. 21B illustrate instant water transport through a wicking loop fabric made from the same base fabric as FIG. 21A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Geotextiles, particularly when employed in civil constructions, such as roads, embankments, walls, and the like, provide separation between two layers of soil with dissimilar particle size distributions. For example, geotextiles prevent base gravel from penetrating the soil subgrade to maintain the design thickness of the road base. Similarly, the filtration function of a geotextile will allow for adequate water flow between the drainable gravel base and the soil subgrade, without fine migration into the larger pores of the gravel that would limit its drainage capabilities. Further, geotextiles can act as a protection layer by preventing gravel from puncturing geomembranes which are used as moisture barriers.

While geotextiles are flexible, the polymers that comprise them become rigid when the fabric is in tension. The tensile strength of a geotextile adds a reinforcement benefit to a soil structure by increasing its stiffness. For example, geotextile reinforcement of pavements significantly extends their design life by delaying cracks from propagating to the surface of the road. Such cracks allow the ingress of water into the pavement, which initiates the deterioration process.

Geotextiles are also utilized for their drainage capability which provides a pathway for water flow parallel to the plane of the geotextile in saturated soil. This drainage function, for example, is used to dissipate pore water pressures at the base of an embankment or as shoulder drains for pavement.

However, under unsaturated conditions, capillary barriers develop and instigate undesirable moisture buildup at the interface between materials with contrasting hydraulic conductivity (e.g., a geosynthetic fabric overlain by a fine-grained soil). Thus, the capillary barrier prevents moisture penetration through the geosynthetic and undermines some of the benefits of the geotextile.

Geotextiles have average opening sizes (AOS) that are similar to coarse-grained soil. When two unsaturated porous materials with different hydraulic conductivities are in contact with one another, e.g. a fine-grained soil overlying a geotextile, capillary barriers form, which increase the moisture storage of the overlying soil. Moisture accumulation will continue in the overlaying fine-grained soil until sufficient energy is developed so that the hydraulic conductivity of the fine-grained soil exceeds the hydraulic conductivity of the geotextile, thereby causing breakthrough and finally allowing flow into the geotextile openings. However, moisture storage will not increase past the saturated moisture content of the soil. This excess moisture reduces soil strength and stability at the soil/geotextile interface.

During the design phase of the civil construction, it is generally assumed that once water reaches the geotextile, it will infiltrate the fabric and be removed from the soil. However, in the presence of unsaturated soils, the capillary barrier resists water drainage, resulting in a buildup of water at the soil/geotextile interface. This excess water reduces soil strength and stability at the soil/geotextile interface. Unsaturated conditions commonly prevail in pavement systems and various other civil structures. When a capillary restricts water flow when a fine-grained soil overlays a coarse-grained soil, water accumulation will continue in the fine-grained soil until suction decreases in the fine-grained soil to the point that the hydraulic conductivity of the two adjacent soils is the same. When the suction has decreased in the overburden soil enough to allow water to break into the larger pores, referred to as the breakthrough suction or breakthrough, water buildup will be halted and flow will proceed into the coarse-grained soil.

Accordingly, there is a need for a geosynthetic fabric capable of providing cross-plane drainage in unsaturated soil conditions. Moreover, there is a need for a geosynthetic fabric that resists capillary barrier formation in unsaturated soils and facilitates moisture infiltration into the fabric and underlying soil or drainage material, e.g., an aggregate.

Described herein are geotextile fabrics with wicking loops on one or both sides/faces. In embodiments, the geotextile fabrics are placed between soil or drainage material layers and used to move water across or through the fabric plane, and/or the geotextile fabrics are used in dewatering applications. In other embodiments, the geotextile fabric includes machine direction yarns forming wicking loops on one or both sides of the geotextile fabric. In some embodiments, the geotextile fabric is a woven fabric with warp yarns formed of wicking yarns woven through the fabric and forming loops on one or both sides/faces of the fabric. In embodiments, the loops cross over at least two wicking yarns in the weft direction of the base fabric. The wicking loops on the first surface (upper wicking loops) suck moisture from unsaturated soil, allowing moisture to drain across the base fabric through the wicking loops and weft direction yarns in the base fabric, and the second surface loops (lower wicking loops) provide suction to cross the base fabric as the porous layer below does not have necessary suction to perform such a process. Moisture drops from the lower wicking loops into the porous layer below to drain away from the fabric. When soil to be filtered is saturated or near saturated (i.e., the soil suction is low), the high permeability portion of the fabric in the base provides high flow rapid equalization of moisture of phases across the fabric and mitigates hydraulic head differentials. The geosynthetic fabrics are anti-capillary barrier geotextiles, which facilitate moisture infiltration for cross-plane enhanced drainage and substantially prevent capillary barrier formation in unsaturated soils at the soil/geotextile interface. The anti-capillary barrier geotextiles substantially minimize moisture accumulation from a capillary barrier due to enhanced cross-plane flow. In one example, this novel feature within the geotextile prevents above soils from becoming super saturated and sloughing off their slope causing potential mud slides, loss of soil and erosion damage.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are schematics of a wicking loop geotextile fabric 100. The geotextile fabric 100 has a cross-machine (weft) direction and a machine (warp) direction. The geotextile fabric includes a weft yarn 106 (first weft yarn) woven in cross-machine (weft) direction. The geotextile fabric further includes a first warp yarn 102 and a second warp yarn 104 woven in the machine (warp) direction.

The weft yarn 106 and the second warp yarn 104 form the base fabric 110, and the first warp yarn 102 is woven through the base fabric 110 to form linked wicking loops on both sides/faces of the base fabric 110 (see FIGS. 3A and 3B). The linked wicking loops provide improved dewatering performance.

The weft yarn 106 is a wicking yarn or a non-wicking yarn. A “yarn” means a continuous length of twisted or otherwise entangled plurality of filaments (i.e., multifilament) which can be used in the manufacture of woven or knitted fabrics and other articles. A “fiber” means a material in which the length to diameter ratio is greater than about 10. “Knitted fabric” means a fabric formed of interlaced loops. The term “wicking yarn” includes a wicking fiber, wicking monofilament, a bundle of wicking monofilament fiber, or any combination thereof. Wicking yarns transport a liquid, such as water, substantially along a single axis.

In embodiments, the weft yarn 106 has a multichannel cross-sectional shape, a multilobal cross-sectional shape, a delta cross-sectional shape, a trilobal cross-sectional shape, a pillow cross-sectional shape, or a round cross-sectional shape. In some embodiments, wicking yarns have a capillary channel structure with at least two walls extending from the base, whereby the base and walls define at least one capillary channel. In some embodiments, wicking yarns have a surface composition that is hydrophilic, which may be inherent due the nature of the material used to make the fibers or may be fabricated by application of surface finishes. In one or more embodiments, the wicking yarn is texturized, or air texturized.

In one or more embodiments, the weft yarn 106 is a round monofilament. In other embodiments, the weft yarn 106 has a yarn count of about 250 to about 7500 denier. Yet, in some embodiments, the weft yarn 106 has a yarn count of about 500 to about 3500 denier.

In embodiments, the weft yarn 106 is woven in the base fabric 110 of the geosynthetic fabric 100 at a density of about 5 to about 50 yarns per inch. In other embodiments, the weft yarn 106 is woven in the base fabric 110 of the geosynthetic fabric 100 at a density of about 10 to about 20 yarns per inch.

The first warp yarn 102 is a wicking yarn with a multichannel cross-sectional shape, a multi-lobal cross-sectional shape, a delta cross-sectional shape, a trilobal cross-sectional shape, a pillow cross-sectional shape, or a round cross-sectional shape. In one or more embodiments, the first warp yarn 102 is texturized, or air texturized.

In some embodiments, the first warp yarn 102 is a bundle of fibers, each fiber with a denier of about 0.1 denier to about 100 deniers. In embodiments, each fiber of the bundle has a denier of about 0.1, 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, and 100 denier.

In one or more embodiments, the first warp yarn 102 has a yarn count of about 500 to about 15000 denier. Yet, in some embodiments, the first warp yarn 102 has a yarn count of about 1000 to about 3500 denier.

The geotextile fabrics have varying yarn densities, which are specified in terms of number of the ends per inch in each direction, warp and weft/fill. The higher this value is, the more ends there are per inch and, thus, the yarn fabric density is greater or higher. In embodiments, the first warp yarn 102 is woven in the base fabric 110 of the geosynthetic fabric 100 at a density of about 1 to about 45 yarns per inch. In other embodiments, the first warp yarn 102 is woven in the base fabric 110 of the geosynthetic fabric 100 at a density of about 5 to about 15 yarns per inch.

The second warp yarn 104 is a wicking or a non-wicking yarn. In embodiments, the second warp yarn 104 is a flat monofilament, a round monofilament, an oval monofilament, a fibrillated tape, a non-fibrillated tape, a continuous filament, a spun yarn, or a multichannel yarn. In other embodiments, the second warp yarn 104 has a multichannel cross-sectional shape, a multi-lobal cross-sectional shape, a delta cross-sectional shape, a trilobal cross-sectional shape, a pillow cross-sectional shape, or a round cross-sectional shape. In other embodiments, the second warp yarn 104 is texturized, or air texturized.

In one or more embodiments, the second warp yarn 104 has a yarn count of about 500 to about 15000 denier. Yet, in some embodiments, the second warp yarn 104 has a yarn count of about 1000 to about 5000 denier.

In embodiments, the second warp yarn 104 is woven in the base fabric 110 of the geosynthetic fabric 100 at a density of about 5 to about 45 yarns per inch. In other embodiments, the second warp yarn 104 is woven in the base fabric 110 of the geosynthetic fabric 100 at a density of about 10 to about 20 yarns per inch.

Each of the weft yarn 106, the first warp yarn 102, and second warp yarn 104, independently, includes a synthetic material, a natural material, or a combination thereof. Non-limiting examples of the synthetic material include a polyolefin, polyesters, polyamides, polyimides, or a combination thereof. Non-limiting examples of the natural material include cotton, wool, flax, or a combination thereof.

The first warp yarn 102 forms interlaced loops that are woven through the base fabric 110. In one or more embodiments, the first warp yarn 102 forms a first loop 108 (or plurality of first loops 108) that is woven through the geotextile fabric and extends from a first face of the woven geosynthetic fabric and across at least two of the first weft yarns 106 to form a first gap (or plurality of first gaps) between the first loop 108 and first face 110 of the woven geosynthetic fabric (see also side views in FIGS. 3A and 3B). In FIG. 1A, the first warp yarn 102 extends across 7 weft yarns 106 to form the first loop 108, but the number of weft yarns 106 is not limited to this number. In one or more embodiments, the first warp yarn 102 forms a first loop 108 that extends across at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, or 15 of the weft yarns 106.

The first gap formed between the first loop 108 and the first face 110 of the woven geosynthetic fabric is at least 0.25 millimeters. In some embodiments, the first gap is about 10 to about 50 millimeters. In other embodiments, the first gap is about or between about 0.25, 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50 millimeters.

The first warp yarn 102 forming the first loop 108 is interlaced/woven through or stitched or attached to form the loop onto the base fabric 110 at a less frequent interval than the second warp yarn 104. A plurality of first loops 108 are formed to extend from a first face of the fabric, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. In some embodiments, the first warp yarn 102 is woven through the base fabric 110 and also forms a plurality of second loops that extend from a second opposing face of the base fabric 110 of the woven geosynthetic fabric (see also side views in FIGS. 3A and 3B). The plurality of second loops also extends across at least two of the weft yarns 106 to form second gaps between the second loops and the second face of the woven geotextile fabric. In one or more embodiments, the first loops 108 have a length that is different than the second loops.

The first loops 108 and corresponding second loops on the opposite face of the base fabric 110 are arranged in a sequence of alternating sets of offset rows. As shown in FIG. 1B for example, first loops 108 are arranged in an alternating arrangement of first rows 112 and second rows 114 in the cross-machine (weft) direction, and first rows 112 and second rows 114 are offset with respect to one another such that the first loops 108 in the first rows 112 are offset in the machine (warp) direction relative to the first loops 108 in the second rows 114. The first and second rows 112 and 114 repeat in an alternating pattern across the cross-machine (weft) direction of the fabric. Accordingly, the second loops (not shown) on the opposing second face of the fabric have an analogous pattern of alternating arrangement of offset first and second rows of second loops.

In one or more embodiments, geotextile fabrics 200 further include a second weft yarn 202 woven in the weft direction, as shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C. The geotextile fabric includes a first weft yarn 106 and a second weft yarn 202 woven in cross-machine (weft) direction. The geotextile fabric 200 also includes a first warp yarn 102 and a second warp yarn 104 woven in the machine (warp) direction. The geotextile fabric shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B include sets of 2 second weft yarns 202 alternating with 7 first weft yarns 106, and the geotextile fabric in FIG. 3A includes 3 second weft yarns 202 alternating with 11 first weft yarns, but geotextiles are not limited to these numbers.

Each of the first weft yarn 106 and the second weft yarn 202 is, independently, a wicking or non-wicking yarn. The first weft yarn 106 and the second weft yarn 202 are the same or different. In some embodiments, the first weft yarn 106 is a non-wicking yarn, and the second weft yarn 202 is a wicking yarn.

The first weft yarn 106, second weft yarn 202, and the second warp yarn 104 form the base fabric 110, and the first warp yarn 102 is woven through the base fabric 110 to form linked wicking loops on both sides/faces of the base fabric 110. The linked wicking loops provide improved dewatering performance.

The first weft yarn 106, first warp yarn 102, and second warp yarn 104 are described above with respect to FIGS. 1A and 1B. The second weft yarn 202 is a wicking yarn or a non-wicking yarn. In embodiments, the second weft yarn 202 has a multichannel cross-sectional shape, a multi-lobal cross-sectional shape, a delta cross-sectional shape, a trilobal cross-sectional shape, a pillow cross-sectional shape, or a round cross-sectional shape. In one or more embodiments, the second weft yarn 202 is a texturized wicking yarn, or an air texturized wicking yarn.

The second weft yarn 202 is a synthetic material, a natural material, or a combination thereof. Non-limiting examples of the synthetic material include a polyolefin (e.g., a polyester), a polyamide, a polyimide, or a combination thereof. Non-limiting examples of the natural material include cotton, wool, flax, or a combination thereof.

In one or more embodiments, the second weft yarn 202 has a yarn count of about 250 denier to about 7500 denier. Yet, in some embodiments, the second weft yarn 202 has a yarn count of about 1000 to about 2500 denier.

In embodiments, the second warp yarn 104 is woven in the base fabric 110 of the geosynthetic fabric 100 at a density of about 5 to about 45 yarns per inch. In other embodiments, the second warp yarn 104 is woven in the base fabric 110 of the geosynthetic fabric 100 at a density of about 10 to about 20 yarns pe inch.

In one or more embodiments, the first weft yarn 106 is a non-wicking yarn, and the second weft yarn 202 is a wicking yarn. The second weft yarn 202 is interlaced/woven in the base fabric 110 at density that is lower than the first weft yarn 106, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 3A. In some embodiments, the ratio of first weft yarns 106 to second weft yarns 202 is about 1:1 to about 50:1. In other embodiments, the ratio of the first weft yarns 106 to second weft yarns 202 is about 1:about 5, about 10, about 15, about 20, about 25, about 30, about 35, about 40, about 45, or about 50.

In other embodiments, a repeating pattern of 2-3 second weft yarns 202 and 7-11 first weft yarns 106 are woven in the weft direction. Yet, in other embodiments, a repeating pattern of about 1 to about 4 second weft yarns 202 and about 5 to about 13 first weft yarns 106 are woven in the weft direction. Still yet, in other embodiments, a repeating pattern of about 1 to about 5 second weft yarns 202 and about 2 to about 11 first weft yarns 106 are woven in the weft direction.

The first warp yarn 102 forms interlaced loops that are woven through the base fabric 110 formed by the first weft yarn 106, the second weft yarn 202, and the second warp yarn 104. In one or more embodiments, the first warp yarn 102 forms a first loop 108 (or plurality of first loops 108) that is woven through the geotextile fabric adjacent to a second weft yarn 202, or between a pair of second weft yarns 202. In other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2A, the first warp yarn 102 is woven under and then over second weft yarns 202 arranged in a pair between each of the loops. In embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2C, the first warp yarn 102 is woven under and then over second weft yarns 202 arranged in a triad between each of the loops.

The first warp yarn 102 extends from a first face of the woven geosynthetic fabric and across at least two of the first weft yarns 106 to form a first gap between the first loop 108 and first face of the woven geosynthetic fabric (see also FIGS. 3A and 3B). In FIG. 2A, the first warp yarn 102 extends across 7 weft yarns 106, but the number of weft yarns 106 is not limited to this number. In one or more embodiments, the first warp yarn 102 forms a loop (or plurality of loops) that extends across at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, or 15 of the weft yarns 106.

The first gap formed between the first loop 108 and the first face of the woven geosynthetic fabric is at least 0.25 millimeters. In some embodiments, the first gap is about 10 to about 50 millimeters. In other embodiments, the first gap is about or between about 0.25, 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50 millimeters.

The first warp yarn 102 forming the first loop 108 is interlaced/woven through the base fabric 110 at a less frequent interval than the second warp yarn 104. A plurality of first loops 108 are formed to extend from a first face of the fabric, as shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C. In some embodiments, the first warp yarn 102 is woven through the base fabric 110 and also forms a plurality of second loops that extend from a second opposing face of the base fabric 110 of the woven geosynthetic fabric. The plurality of second loops also extends across at least two of the weft yarns 106 to form second gaps between the second loops and the second face of the woven geotextile fabric. In one or more embodiments, the first loop 108 has a length that is different than the second loop.

The weave pattern of fabric construction is the pattern in which the warp yarns are interlaced with the weft (or fill) yarns. A woven fabric is characterized by an interlacing of these yarns, and a plain weave is characterized by a repeating pattern where each warp yarn is woven over one weft yarn and then woven under the next weft yarn.

The term “shed” is derived from the temporary separation between upper and lower warp yarns through which the weft or fill yarns pass between during the weaving process. The shed allows the warp yarns to interlace the fill yarns based upon the harness lifting pattern to create the specific woven fabric. By separating some of the warp yarns from the others, a shuttle, projectile or the like can carry the fill yarns through the shed, for example, perpendicularly to the warp yarns. As known in weaving, the warp yarns which are raised and the warp yarns that are lowered respectively become the lowered warp yarns and the raised warp yarns after each pass of the weft yarn. During the weaving process, the shed is raised; the shuttle carries the weft yarns through the shed; the shed is closed; and the fill yarns are pressed into place, called the fell of the cloth. Accordingly, as used herein with respect to a woven fabric, the term “shed” means a respective fill set which is bracketed by warp yarns.

The weave patterns for the geotextile fabrics described herein are plain weaves with 1-2 pick insertions according to some embodiments. The base fabrics 110 shown in FIGS. 1A and 2A are plain weaves, but the weave patterns for the base fabrics of the geotextile fabrics are not limited to plain weaves.

In some embodiments, the geotextile fabric base fabric is a plain multi-pick weave. A plain multi-pick weave is characterized by a repeating pattern where a warp set of one or more warp yarns is woven over one weft set of two or more fill/weft yarns and then woven under the next weft set. In other words, the plain multi-pick weave comprises weft sets having two or more fill yarns per shed. For example, a six-pick weave is characterized by a repeating pattern where a warp set of one or more warp yarns is woven over one weft set of six weft yarns and then woven under the next weft set. That is, the plain six-pick weave comprises weft sets having six weft yarns per shed. As used herein, a ½ plain weave is characterized by a repeating pattern where each warp yarn is woven over one weft set of two fill yarns and then woven under the next two-yarn fill set. ⅓, ¼, and ⅕ plain weaves respectively are characterized by a repeating patter where each warp yarn is woven over one weft set of three, four, or five fill yarns and then woven under the next weft set of like number of yarns. As used herein, a ⅙ plain weave is characterized by a repeating pattern where each warp yarn is woven over one fill set and then woven under the next fill set.

In other embodiments, the geotextile fabric base fabric is a twill weave. A twill weave, in contrast to the plain weave and the plain multi-pick weave, has fewer interlacings in a given area. The twill is a basic type of weave, and there are a multitude of different twill weaves. A twill weave is named by the number of weft/fill yarns which a single warp yarn goes over and then under. For example, in a 2/2 twill weave, a single warp end weaves over two fill yarns and then under two fill yarns. In a 3/1 twill weave, a single warp end weaves over three fill yarns and then under one fill yarn. For fabrics being constructed from the same type and size of yarn, with the same thread or monofilament densities, a twill weave has fewer interlacings per area than a corresponding plain weave fabric. Accordingly, a twill weave is not a plain multi-pick weave.

In one or more embodiments, the geotextile fabric base fabric is a satin weave. A satin weave, also in contrast to the plain weave and the plain multi-pick weave, has fewer interlacings in a given area. It is another basic type of weave from which a wide array of variations can be produced. A satin weave is named by the number of ends on which the weave pattern repeats. For example, a five harness satin weave repeats on five ends and a single warp yarn floats over four fill yarns and goes under one fill yarn. An eight harness satin weave repeats on eight ends and a single warp yarn floats over seven fill yarns and passes under one fill yarn. For fabrics being constructed from the same type of yarns with the same yarn densities, a satin weave has fewer interlacings than either a corresponding plain or twill weave fabric. In one or more embodiments, the geotextile fabric base is a two-layer weave. A two-layer weave reduces the interlacings from the warp yarn by dividing them over a second weft yarn, creating a looser weave.

Wicking and non-wicking fibers used herein for both warp and weft yarns are made from the melt spinnable polymers, which include, without limitation, polyesters, nylons, polyolefins, and cellulose esters. Non-limiting examples of polymers include from poly (ethylene terephthalate), polypropylene, polyethylene, polypropylene/polypropylene copolymer admixtures, polyamides, chemical cellulose-based polymers such as viscose and di- or tri-ace-, co-, ter-, etc. polymers and grafted polymers, thermoplastic polymers, such as polyesters and copolymers of dicarboxylic acids or esters thereof and glycols, or any combination thereof. The dicarboxylic acid and ester compounds include, but are not limited to, terephthalic acid, isophthalic acid, p,p′-diphenyldicarboxylic acid, p,p′-dicarboxydiphenyl ethane, p,p′-dicarboxydiphenyl hexane, p,p′-dicarboxydiphenyl ether, p,p′-dicarboxyphenoxy ethane, and the like, and the dialkylesters thereof that contain from 1 to about 5 carbon atoms in the alkyl groups thereof.

As described above, at low moisture content, high soil suction withholds moisture and prevents water from migrating into a more porous medium. The geotextile fabrics described herein are arranged in some embodiments between soil or drainage layers to move water from one layer to the other. When the geotextile fabrics include alternating wicking loops on opposing sides/faces of the fabric, the alternating loops move water from the first soil or drainage layer to the second soil or drainage layer.

FIG. 3A is side view of a schematic of a wicking loop fabric moving water from a first soil layer 316 (or drainage layer, also referred to as an aggregate layer) to a second soil layer 308 (or drainage layer, also referred to as an aggregate layer). FIG. 3B is a close-up view of the schematic of the wicking loop fabric moving water as shown in FIG. 3A. The geotextile fabric is arranged between the first soil layer 316 (or drainage layer) and the second soil layer 308 (or drainage layer). The geotextile fabric includes a base fabric 306 with a wicking warp yarn 310 that is woven through the base fabric 306 and forms alternating loops on opposing sides of the base fabric 306. The wicking warp yarn 310 forms first loops 318 on the first face/side of the base fabric 306. The first loops 318 extend from the first face/side of the base fabric and form first gaps 319 between the base fabric 306 and the first loops 318. The wicking warp yarn 310 is woven through the base fabric around a first weft yarn 314 back to the first face, around an adjacent second weft yarn 315, and back through to the second face to form second loops 322 and second gaps on the second face/side of the base fabric 306. The wicking warp yarn 310 is then woven back through the base fabric around another first weft yarn 314 back to the first face, around an adjacent second weft yarn 315, and back to the first face to form a first loop 318. The first loops 318 (upper wicking loops) are arranged in the first soil layer 316 (or aggregate layer), and the second loops 322 (lower wicking loops) are arranged in the second soil layer 308 (or aggregate layer). In some embodiments, the first weft yarn 314 and the second weft yarn 315 are wicking yarns.

The first soil layer 316 (or drainage layer) includes soil particles 320 (or drainage particles) with pores therebetween, and water 302 within the pores. The second soil layer 308 (or drainage layer) includes soil particles 321 (or drainage particles), e.g., drainage stones, with pores therebetween that are larger than the pores of the first soil layer 316. At low moisture content, high soil suction generally withholds moisture in the first soil layer 316 and prevents water from dropping into the more porous second soil layer 316. However, the wicking loop geotextile provides sufficient suction to transport water from the first soil layer 316 to the second soil layer 308 (drainage layer or aggregate layer) against the capillary barrier created under unsaturated conditions. The high permeability base fabric 306 ensures the geotextile fabric dewaters well when the soil above (first soil layer 316) has lower soil suction (for higher moisture content and/or more sandy soils) (see FIG. 3A, showing high water flow 312 through the high permeability portion of the base fabric 306 between the loops). The first loops 318 hygroscopically draw water 302 from the first soil layer 316 above, conduct the water 302 across the base fabric 306, and the second loops 322 then saturate and drop the water 302 out into the second soil layer 308 (or drainage layer or aggregate layer).

In some embodiments, a method of moving water through a geotextile fabric includes providing the geotextile fabric between a first soil layer (or drainage layer) and a second soil layer (or drainage layer or aggregate layer) and using the alternating loops in the woven geotextile fabric to move water from the first soil layer to a second soil layer.

In one or more embodiments, the first soil layer (or drainage layer) is a material layer that includes rare earth elements and/or acid mining sludge, and the second soil layer (or drainage layer) includes drainage gravel. Acid mine drainage occurs when ground water passes through a layer of sulfide minerals and becomes acidic, forming a low pH sulfuric acid solution. This drainage leaches heaving metals into a solution and oxidizes when coming into contact with air. The acidic water drains from the surface and underground mines into an open-air environment, polluting surface water with ochre, which are red, orange, or yellow precipitate sediments.

In some embodiments, the geotextile fabric used to move water is sewn into a dewatering bag or geotube. FIG. 4 is a side view of a schematic of a dewatering bag 402 or geotube with a wicking loop fabric. The dewatering bag 402 includes a wicking loop geotextile fabric. The geotextile fabric includes a dewatering base fabric 403 and an alternating wicking loop 410 structure on both sides of the dewatering base fabric 403. The dewatering bag 402 includes a material 404 to be dewatered, e.g., acid mining sludge and/or rare earth elements. The dewatering bag 402 is arranged on a drainage layer 414, e.g., drainage gravel, on a subgrade layer 412. A portion of the dewatering bag 402 is also exposed to air. At the surface of the dewatering bag 402 that is exposed to air, the wicking loops 410 create a water/moisture suction 406 that moves water from the material 404 to be dewatered in the dewatering bag 402 to the outside air, resulting in evaporation 409 of the water into the air. At the portion of the dewatering bag 402 in contact with the drainage layer 414, the wicking loops 410 create a water/moisture suction 416 that moves water from the material to be dewatered in the dewatering bag 402 to the drainage layer 414 (see water dropout 416).

In one or more embodiments, the geotextile fabric is used in a landfill. The geotextile fabric is used in a variety of applications in the landfill. The geotextile fabric functions as a liner on the bottom of the landfill, which may be between layers of materials. The geotextile fabric is also placed on top of the landfill, which may be between layers of materials. The geotextile fabric allows for water flow and permits drainage.

In some embodiments, geotextile fabrics have stitched wicking loops on one or both sides of the fabric. FIG. 5A is roll of a geotextile fabric 500 with wicking loops stitched onto a base fabric 510. The geotextile fabric has a cross-machine direction and a machine direction. The base fabric 510 is a nonwoven fabric (e.g., a spunbond fabric). The base fabric 510 further includes a first cross machine direction yarn 506 arranged at any angle with respect to the machine direction. The first cross-machine direction yarn is woven, knitted, stitched, sewn, adhered, or laid, at any angle respective to the machine direction. The first cross-machine direction yarn 506 and the base fabric 510 form the base fabric.

The first machine direction yarn 502 is arranged on the first cross-machine direction yarn 506 in the machine direction and is a wicking yarn. The first machine direction yarn 502 forms a first loop 508 that is stitched by binding yarn 512 to the base fabric 510 and extends from a first face of the geotextile fabric to form a first gap between the first loop 508 and the first face of the base fabric 510 of the geotextile fabric 500. In some embodiments, the binding yarn 512 is stitched in a chevron pattern or a zig-zag pattern over the first machine direction yarn 502, and each first loop 508 is defined by the distance between successive binding yarns 512 across the machine direction.

In one or more embodiments, all of the first loops are secured to the first face of the fabric by the binding yarn 512. Non-limiting examples of materials for the binding yarn 512 include a polyesters, nylons, polyolefins, and cellulose esters. Non-limiting examples of polymers for the binding yarn 512 include oly(ethylene terephthalate), polypropylene, polyethylene, polypropylene/polypropylene copolymer admixtures, polyamides, chemical cellulose-based polymers such as viscose and di- or tri-ace-, co-, ter-, etc. polymers and grafted polymers, thermoplastic polymers, such as polyesters and copolymers of dicarboxylic acids or esters thereof and glycols, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the binding yarn is a bicomponent polyester fiber with a core and/or sheath that includes a polyester.

FIG. 5B illustrates an enlarged top view of wicking loops stitched to one face of a geosynthetic fabric 520, and FIG. 5C illustrates an enlarged bottom view of the fabric of FIG. 5B. The geosynthetic fabric 520 has a cross-machine direction and a machine direction. The nonwoven base fabric 510 (e.g., a scrim) further includes a first cross machine direction yarn 506 arranged at any angle with respect to the machine direction. The first cross-machine direction yarn 506 is woven, knitted, stitched, sewn, adhered, or laid, at any angle respective to the machine direction. The first cross-machine direction yarn 506 and the fabric 510 form the base fabric. The first machine direction yarn 502 is a wicking yarn. The first machine direction yarn 502 forms a first loop 508 that is stitched by binding yarn 512 to the base fabric 510 and extends from a first face of the geotextile fabric to form a first gap between the first loop 508 and the first face of the base fabric 510 of the geosynthetic fabric 520.

In one or more embodiments, the geosynthetic fabric further includes a second cross-machine direction yarn woven in the cross-machine direction. In embodiments, the first cross machine direction yarn is a non-wicking yarn, and the second cross machine direction yarn is a wicking yarn.

Any of the first warp yarns or second warp yarns described above with respect to the geotextile fabrics 100, 200 in FIGS. 1A-2C may be used for the first or second machine direction yarns. Any of the first weft yarns or second weft yarns described above with respect to the geotextile fabrics 100, 200 in FIGS. 1A-2C may be used for the first or second cross-machine direction yarns. The first gaps forms by the first machine direction yarn 502 have any dimensions described above for the geotextile fabrics 100, 200. In some embodiments, the first gap formed between the first loop and the first face of the geosynthetic fabric 500, 520 is at least 0.25 millimeters. In some embodiments, the first gap formed between the first loop and the first face of the geosynthetic fabric is about 1 to about 10 millimeters, or about 1 to about 8 millimeters. In other embodiments, the first gap formed between the first loop and the face of the geotextile fabric is about 1 to about 50 millimeters.

In some embodiments, the geosynthetic fabrics are formed by forming a base fabric that is a nonwoven fabric, a woven fabric, or a knitted fabric, followed by weaving or stitching a wicking warp yarn through or on the base fabric to form loops on one or both sides of the fabric. In other embodiments, the geosynthetic fabrics are formed by forming a base fabric and stitching a wicking warp yarn to the base fabric on one or both sides of the fabric.

The geotextile fabrics mitigate capillary suction in soil. Soil suction is the ability to wick and hold water primarily due capillary actions in the soil structure, which is of interest because increase in moisture content changes the hydraulic and mechanical properties of soil and can result in engineering problems involving unsaturated soils. Forces acting on spherical particles within soil is due to surface tension. The finer the soil grains, the greater the soil capillary suction and the higher capillary rise, as shown in FIG. 6. In other words, finer grained soils, such as clays and silt loams, accumulate water to a greater extent than coarser grained soils, such as sandy loams and fine sands, which is due to soil capillary suction and results in an undesired higher capillary rise within the soil.

There are various types of water available in soils. Hygroscopic water is “bonded” water that can only be removed by oven drying. Capillary water is water held through matrix suction and that which plants can extract. Gravitational water is free water that can drain away by gravitation.

For coarse grained soils, hydraulic conductivity is somewhat proportional to porosity or percentage of void, but for fine grained soils, e.g., silts and clays, hydraulic conductivity is low despite having a high percentage of voids. The reason for this is that most of the void space is usually taken up by hydroscopic water and capillary water, thus leaving a very small gravity drainable pore space.

Although counterintuitive, hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated gravel or geotextiles can be significantly smaller than that of the unsaturated soil because a capillary barrier develops when an unsaturated fine-grained soil layer is underlain by another unsaturated porous material with relatively large-sized pores, such as a coarse-grained soil layer (e.g., sand, gravel), or a porous geosynthetic (e.g., a non-woven geotextile). Moisture does not move from soil into the porous medium until the soil moisture increases to a point (known as the capillary break). Increased suction in the porous medium can result in capillary break at lower soil moisture content.

To quantify the water storage capacity in porous media (such as soil), the volumetric water content, θ, is measured as a function of the porous media suction, ψ. Volumetric water content is defined as the ratio between volume of water and the total volume in a geomaterial. The relationship between moisture and suction of the soil defines the Soil-Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC), which indicates the amount of water present in the pore space and the suction moisture content curve (see FIG. 7). The SWCC curve illustrates moisture state (expressed in terms of the volumetric water content, θ_w=volume of water/total volume, as a decimal; w=mass of water/mass of solids, as a percentage; or degree of saturation, S=volume of water/volume of voids, as a percentage) and matric suction, u_w′−u_a, (to a logarithmic scale). Similarly, the Geosynthetic-Water Characteristic Curve (GWCC) defines the relationship between moisture and suction of a geotextile.

Matric suction is the difference between the pore-air and the pore-water pressure. Laboratory measurements of matric suction can be made using the axis translation technique, which is described as follows and illustrated in FIGS. 17A and 17B. The axis translation technique translates the origin of reference for the pore-water pressure from standard atmospheric condition to the final air pressure in the chamber. The tendency of the water in the measuring system to become negative is countered by increasing the air pressure in the chamber. Eventually, at an equilibrium condition, the difference between the air pressure in the chamber and the measured water pressure at equilibrium is taken to be the matric suction of the soil. To perform the tests, soil samples are compacted at the optimum water content. Each sample is compacted with five layers, and different layers are separated with a thin metal plate to ensure a relatively flat and smooth contact surface. Then, samples are put into a plastic mold and submerged into water for saturation. After saturation, soil samples are put into a pressure plate test apparatus. The test samples are placed on top of a high air-entry ceramic disc (FIG. 17A). The ceramic disc only conducts water as long as the air pressure applied to the specimen is lower than the air-entry value (AEV) of the ceramic disc. The air pressure forces the pore water to flow through the water conductive ceramic disc. The excess water is collected by a 50 ml beaker and the mass of beaker is regularly measured till a constant value is obtained, indicating that an equilibrium condition is achieved. At the equilibrium condition, the air pressure corresponds to the matric suction value and the water content of the specimen is determined after the test (FIG. 17B).

The relationship between water content and suction in the SWCC is sensitive to pore size distribution of the material and displays how the volumetric water contents for materials change with increasing or decreasing suction. Smaller pore sizes correspond to a higher air entry value (AEV), which indicates that it is more difficult for air to penetrate into the pores. As shown in FIG. 7, the desorption curve (drying path) starts with an initially saturated sample until the sample reaches residual conditions with increasing suction. The initial saturated volumetric water content at low suctions is the same as the porosity since all the air in the sample has been replaced by water. The air entry value (AEV) is the suction value at which the sample first starts to desaturate. The final residual water content corresponds to the small amount of water held in the soil pores with no pathway to escape. The adsorption curve (wetting path) starts with an initially dry sample until the sample becomes saturated with decreasing suction. The water entry value is the suction value at which water is first able to enter the sample. There is some hysteresis between the two curves. This is due to the fact that during drying, large pores will drain first and the small pores will drain second. The order is reversed upon wetting, however, as the large pores prevent some of the small pores from filling and cause air entrapment, creating the hysteresis that prevents complete saturation.

To measure the Geosynthetic-Water Characteristic Curve (GWCC) (see FIG. 8), which defines the relationship between moisture and suction of a geotextile, three traditional tests are performed, including the capillary rise test to determine the WRC in at low suction range (≤10 kPa), the pressure plate test to determine the WRC in at intermediate suction range (10 kPa-1500 kPa), and the salt concentration test to determine the WRC in at high suction range (>1500 kPa).

FIG. 18A shows the test setup for the capillary rise test. The geotextile samples are cut into 0.1 m-wide by 1.0 m-long strips and saturated before testing. The entire sample is covered with plastic wrap to minimize water loss due to evaporation. One end of the sample is submerged into a water reservoir and the water surface is considered as a datum plane. Meanwhile, the other end of the sample is suspended vertically above the reservoir and a ruler is also hanging in parallel beside the sample to determine the elevation of the sample. The water within the testing specimen flows downward under the influence of gravity. The pore water pressure below the datum plane is positive and above the datum plane is negative. Under steady-state, the pore water pressure is linearly distributed in the vertical direction, as expressed in the following equation:

ψ=ρ_wgh

where, ψ=matric suction, kPa; ρ_w=density of water, kg/m³; g=gravitational acceleration, m/s²; and h=elevation of the centroid of the sample, m.

FIG. 19 shows the test setup for the pressure plate test. The saturated geotextile samples are sandwiched by two pieces of acrylic boards, and clamps are used to erect and fasten the samples in the vertical direction. Then, a thin layer of soil slurry (kaolinite:water=1:2 by weight) is coated at the bottom of the sample to ensure a good contact area between the sample and the ceramic disc. Note that the soil slurry shall not be too thick to impede water flow nor too thin to flow away. The soil slurry layer ensures a continuous liquid water flow path, and the excess pore water can be freely forced out of the sample when applying the regulated air pressure. The excess water is expelled out of the system to a 50 ml beaker, and the mass of the water is continuously measured until a constant value is obtained. At the equilibrium condition, the lower part of the specimen is contaminated and is cut off. The upper part of the specimen is used to determine the water content.

FIG. 20 shows the test apparatus for the salt concentration test. A controlled relative humidity environment is used to establish a constant total suction. The pore water within the sample is allowed to evaporate and reach in equilibrium with the surrounding vapor pressure. The relative humidity is controlled by the salt concentration in the MgCl₂ solute. The relationships between the concentration and the corresponding suction are presented in Table 1 below, according to the Lord Kelvin equation (see Fredlund, D. G. et al., Predicting the permeability function for unsaturated soils using the soil-water characteristic curve, Can. Geotech J. 31. 533-546 (1994)). Six glass jars are filled with solute with different salt concentrations and the corresponding suction values range from 1303 kPa to 14554 kPa. The saturated samples are placed in tinfoil sample holder with punched holes at the bottom to shorten the time required to reach equilibrium. After the samples are placed in the jar, electrical tape is used to seal the glass jar. It takes about 7 days to reach equilibrium, and the water contents of the samples are determined after the test. Given suction values and the corresponding water contents, the WRC at a high suction level can be determined.

TABLE 1
Salt concentrations and the corresponding suctions
Mg Cl2 (g/L) Suction (kPa)
19.050       1303
38.100       2739
47.626       3523
66.676       5244
95.251       8249
142.877      14554

FIG. 7 illustrates the SWCCs for clay, sand, silt, granular base and GWCCs for a non-wicking geotextile and a moisture management geotextile (MMG) with wicking yarns. The GWCC of the non-wicking geotextile was similar to that of sand. The non-wicking geotextile had an AEV of 0.5 kPa, and the water content dramatically decreased as the suction increased from 0.0 kPa to 1.5 kPa. As the suction exceeded the AEV, most of the pores within the non-wicking geotextile were occupied with air, and the geotextile worked as a capillary barrier to impede water from passing through.

In comparison, the GWCC of the wicking geotextile (MMG) shows a much stronger ability to hold water under saturated conditions. The GWCC of the wicking geotextile has a bimodal shape, which can be described by two sets of regression parameters, resulting in two AEVs: the inter-yarn AEV and the inner-yarn AEV. These parameters result from the existence of wicking fibers in the in-plane direction. The inter yarn air entry value (AEV) for the wicking loop geotextile is 1.1 kPa and mainly controlled by the relatively large pores between the weaving polyethylene yarns. In fact, the inter-yarn AEV of the wicking geotextile was similar to that of the non-wicking geotextile, and air could easily enter into the pores among the weaving yarns as suction exceeded 1.1 kPa. That is to say, the wicking geotextile would work as a capillary barrier in the cross-plane direction. However, the unique feature of the wicking geotextile was the specially designed wicking fibers in the in-plane direction. The inner-yarn AEV of the wicking geotextile was 254.0 kPa, which was mainly controlled by the size of openings within the deep grooves of the wicking geotextile. The deep grooves within fibers remained saturated and could serve as water flow channels under unsaturated conditions. As suction exceeded the inner-yarn AEV, the deep grooves became desaturated and the ability of the wicking geotextile to transport water was expected to significantly decrease. Therefore, the theoretical functional suction range for the wicking geotextile was 0-254 kPa. In summary, the wicking geotextile had a relatively strong lateral drainage ability in the in-plane direction when compared with the non-wicking geotextile.

The ability of a geomaterial to transport water under unsaturated conditions can be explained by its hydraulic conductivity, or K-function. FIG. 8 illustrates a graph of the relationship between hydraulic conductivity and suction (also referred to as the K function) for clay, a nonwoven geotextile, and a wicking geotextile. The K-functions provide a measure of the increased impedance to water flow with increasing water content. Near saturation, the coarser materials (geotextiles) have a comparatively higher hydraulic conductivity than fine-grained materials (clay). The intersection of the curves is the capillary break-in point between clay and each of the geotextiles, or the suctions at which water travels therebetween.

For comparison, the far-left side of FIG. 8 also shows the Soil Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC, volumetric moisture content (%)) for the clay soil, which relates the water content in soil at different soil suction values. To determine the capillary break-through point between the clay soil and the geotextile (wicking or nonwoven), you first determine the soil-suction at break-in between materials, e.g., between clay soil and the nonwoven, or between clay soil and the wicking geotextile, which is the soil suction when both K-function curves intersect one another. For clay/nonwoven intersection, the suction is about 1.2 kPa. For the clay/wicking geotextile intersection, the suction is about 10 kPa. Next, you determine what the moisture content in the clay soil at these particular soil suction values (far-left side of FIG. 8), which are the capillary breakthrough points in the clay soil. The clay moisture content at 1.2 kPa is 42%, therefore is the break-in moisture content for clay into nonwoven. The clay moisture content at 10 kPa is 30%, which is the break-in moisture content for clay into the wicking geotextile.

The wicking geotextiles indeed continuously draw moisture away from the soil it is in contact with. The wicking yarn in the wicking geotextile is inherently hygroscopic and therefore draws moisture, but it has to move it, not store it. The wicking fiber is hygroscopic because of its polymer content, but its structure provides the capillary action and permanent suction, which occurs in the most vital unsaturated conditions. In saturated conditions, water will run off, and the free water will pond initially but eventually exit through the soil, by evaporation, as run off; etc. Therefore, the wicking yarn is there to provide a draw for moisture and move it, but the best and preferred ‘system’ would be the one that has less interference and is optimized to do so. Although the wicking geotextiles with wicking yarns are effective, they are not optimized. However, the wicking loop fabrics described herein provide the desired draw and movement, as well as the least tortuous path for water to channel and exit the soil.

The in FIG. 8 shows the various soil medias hold moisture with a high degree of variability. Sand does not hold well, and in fact it acts more like a drain. On the other hand, high plasticity clays hold larger volumes of moisture and for much longer periods of time. When sand, clay, and various fabrics are compared to the wicking loop fabric, the loop structure provides slightly more ability to move the moisture out of the system in less time, which equates to lower volumetric moisture content in soils, as well as stiffer soils, i.e., with a greater modulus. The foregoing promotes the soil's ability to return to equilibrium at a faster rate and to remain in its position, rather than sliding.

The geotextiles described herein with wicking loops alternating between faces of the geotextile improve the K-function of the geotextile, resulting in a capillary break at a lower moisture content. The hydraulic conductivity of a material with relatively large pores decreases faster than one with small pores. As shown, a suction of about 1.5 kPa is the capillary break-in point of clay moisture into the nonwoven geotextile.

Conventional methods used to define the K-function may be costly, time consuming and prone to error due experimental issues involved in the control of water flow through unsaturated geomaterials. Accordingly, K-functions are often predicted based on the information obtained using theoretical derivations based on the measured SWCC and GWCC. The K-function can be predicted using the method described in Fredlund et al., Predicting the permeability function for unsaturated soils using the soil-water characteristic curve, Can. Geotech J. 31. 533-546 (1994).

Based on the fact that the both the permeability function and the SWCC are primarily determined by the pore-size distribution of the soil, a statistical model has been proposed to determine the permeability function for an unsaturated soil using the SWCC. The calculations are performed by dividing the relation between volumetric water content and suction into m equal water content increments. Each water content midpoint corresponds to a particular matric suction. The midpoints are numbered starting from point 1 and the permeability function can be predicted according to the following equation:

$\begin{array}{cc}\text{?}=\text{?}/\text{?}\left\{\left(2j+1-2i\right){\left(\text{?}-\text{?}\right)}_j^{-2}\right\}i=1,2,...,m& \left(2\right)\end{array}$ $\text{?}\text{indicates text missing or illegible when filed}$

where, k_w=predicted hydraulic conductivity for a water content w_i (corresponding to the ith interval), m/s; i=interval number which increases as the water content decreases; j=a counter from “i” to “m”; m=total number of intervals between the saturated water content and the lowest water content on the SWCC curve (for our case, m=20); k_s=measured saturated hydraulic conductivity; ksc=saturated coefficient of permeability, m/s; and A_d=adjusting constant. The calculation of the permeability at a specific volumetric water content involves the summation of the suction values that correspond to the water contents at and below this suction value. The matching factor, k_s/k_sc, are based on the saturated permeability and is necessary to provide a more accurate fit for the unsaturated permeability. The shape of the permeability function is determined by the term inside the summation-sign of the equation which, in turn, are obtained from the SWCC.

According to one or more embodiments, the geotextile fabrics described herein have a breakthrough suction of at least 50 kilopascals. In other embodiments, the geotextile fabrics have a breakthrough suction of about 1 to about 1000 kilopascals.

The geotextiles have a high matric suction, which draws moisture from surrounding soil, and favorable wettability, which allows rapid moisture breaks into the fabric. Super-wicking yarns in the fabric create an instantly wettable filtration geotextile as measured by contact angle. When a water droplet is disposed on the wicking yarn surface, the contact angle with respect to the fabric surface is significantly smaller than other geotextiles. A droplet of water essentially travels immediately through the fabric, when the droplet is placed on the wicking yarn. According to one or more embodiments, a contact angle of a 2-microliter water droplet on a first face of the geotextile is less than or equal to 55 degrees after 0.1 microseconds.

In some embodiments, the geotextile fabrics are processed by calendaring or lamination. In other embodiments, the geotextile fabrics are calendared geotextiles or laminated geotextiles. Unexpectedly, calendaring the geotextile fabrics result in improved wettability.

EXAMPLES

Example 1

Uniaxial wicking loop fabrics, referred to as FWL-T1 (with wicking yarns in one direction, the warp direction, for example as shown in FIG. 1A) and biaxial wicking loop fabrics (with wicking yarns in the warp and weft directions, for example as shown in FIG. 2A) were formed using the yarn and weave parameters in Tables 2 and 3 below.

TABLE 2
Uniaxial wicking loop fabric construction (FWL-T1)
				Density/10
				centimeters
	Yarn	Denier	Twist	(MD × XMD)
Warp 1	Flat	1100	S90	133	140
	monofilament
Warp 2	Wicking	3800/3		7
Weft 1	Round	1020		94	94
	monofilament
Construction	140 × 94
yarns per 10
centimeters
Weave	2 pick insertion plain weave
Pick pattern	2A-2A-2A-2A-2A-2A-2A-2A-2A

TABLE 3
Biaxial wicking loop fabric construction (FWL-T2)
				Density/10
				centimeters
	Yarn	Denier	Twist	(MD × XMD)
Warp 1	Flat	1100	S90	133	140
	monofilament
Warp 2	Wicking	3800/3		7
Weft 1	Round	1020	S90	87.5	83.5
	monofilament
Weft 2	Trilobal	660/3		12.5
Construction	140 × 94
yarns per 10
centimeters
Weave	2 pick insertion plain weave
Pick pattern	2A-2A-2A-2A-2A-2A-2A-2A-2A

Example 2

The water flow through wicking loop geotextiles and those without wicking loops were compared using Rapid Dewatering Test (RDT) funnel testing. HP665 (GT500) is a 2/2 twill double pick weave, with monofilament warp yarns, and fibrillated tape fill yarns. FW409 is a 100% monofilament warp yarn and fill fabric. FWL-T2 is the biaxial wicking loop fabric described above in Example 1, in which wicking loops were added to the FW409 base fabric.

The fabrics were arranged in the bottom of the RDT funnels and placed in beakers. The slurries had initial solids contents of 35.6%. Wet soil samples from a creek were formed into filter cakes on each of the fabrics in the funnels, and water that accumulated in the beakers by flowing through the fabrics was measured over time. The clear water accumulation in the beakers represented the difference between the water dropping from RDT funnel into the beakers and the loss of water from the beaker through evaporation via small gaps in the beaker mouths and the RDT funnel.

Table 4 and FIG. 9 illustrate results of the RDT testing. As shown, more water crossed or passed through the wicking loop fabric (FWL-T2) relative to the other fabrics throughout the entire 7 days measured.

FIG. 10 illustrates a graph of the differential water discharge (grams) of the inventive FWL-T2 wicking loop fabric and FW409 over HP665.

As shown, the dewatering performance of FWL-T2 appears to be better than that of both HP665 (GT500) and FW409. Addition of linked wicking loops to the base fabric of FW409 improved dewatering performance in the following ways. The time taken for the filter cake to stabilize was shortened from 34 minutes for FW409 to 5 minutes for FWL-T2, which indicated the wicking loops helped to draw water faster from the slurry to solidify the formation of the filter cake. During the wetter soil phase, the dewatering rate for FWL-T2 was faster than that for FW409, which indicated the wicking loops were contributing to the dewatering process. Further, during the drier soil phase when soil suction was expected to be important, evaporation began to reduce the weight of water in beaker, which suggested that little or no water was dropping from the RDT funnel. However, the reduction was smaller for FWL-T2, which indicated the wicking loops were still sucking water from the soil above during this drier soil phase.

TABLE 4
RDT clear water accumulation
	Filter cake	Clear water accumulation in beaker after filter cake
	formation phase	formation2
	Time	Initial	After	After	After	After	After	After	After
Filter	taken	discharge	1 day	2 days	3 days	4 days	5 days	6 days	7 days
fabric	(min)	(g)	(g)	(g)	(g)	(g)	(g)	(g)	(g)
HP665	24	13.1	106.0	138.3	138.6	138.1	137.5	136.9	136.2
(GT500)
FWL-	5	32.6	106.1	140.3	141.9	141.6	141.1	140.6	140.1
T2
FW409	34	33.1	102.8	134.6	136.1	135.7	135.3	134.8	134.3

Example 3

Infiltration soil column tests were conducted to assess the performance of FWL-T1 and FWL-T2 wicking loop geotextiles compared to conventional geotextiles (i.e., RS380i, without wicking loops). The setup included a 19.7-centimeter diameter acrylic column with 32 centimeters of Rocky Mountain Arsenal (RMA) soil compacted in two- and three-centimeters thick lifts. A geotextile was placed under 15-centimeters thick RMA soil underlain by 17-centimeters of the same soil. Three moisture sensors were set at 2, 8, and 13-centimeters above the geotextile, and one moisture sensor was placed 2-centimeters below the geotextile. FIG. 11 presents the setup used.

The soil column models built in this testing program were constructed at an initial gravimetric moisture content of 10% and relative compaction of 77.2%, corresponding to a dry density of 1.47 g/cm³ (91.81 pcf). The following steps were followed to build the soil column setup. First, a filter paper was placed before starting to place the soil to avoid clogging. Then, five 3 cm-thick lifts of soil were built by placing the corresponding weight of soil and compacting it. An initial moisture sensor was placed (called M1), and a two centimeters thick lift of soil was placed on top of the sensor. Then, a geotextile was carefully placed between the two acrylic cylinders. Subsequently, 1 lift of 2 cm, 3 lifts of 3 cm and 2 lifts of 2 cm were placed of top of the geotextile. Moisture sensors were installed between the lifts at 2, 8 and 13 cm from the geotextile (M2, M3, and M4, respectively). Table 5 shows the calculation used to estimate the weight of soil needed per lift. Once the soil was placed in the soil column, a filter paper was placed on top of the soil layer, and the top of the column was sealed with plastic. Then, a low-flow peristaltic pump was used to supply a uniform flow rate to the soil column. The pump was calibrated to impose a 0.45 mL/min flow rate. Additionally, at the beginning of the test, the LABVIEW code of the tipping bucket underneath the soil column was initiated to measure the outflow.

TABLE 5
Calculations for soil columns constructions using RMA soil
			Vol	Wdry	Wwater
Lift	H(cm)	Elevation	(cm3)	(g)	(g)	Wwet(g)
1	3	3	914.42	1344.79	134.48	1479.27
2	3	6	914.42	1344.79	134.48	1479.27
3	3	9	914.42	1344.79	134.48	1479.27
4	3	12	914.42	1344.79	134.48	1479.27
5	3	15	914.42	1344.79	134.48	1479.27
6	2	17	609.61	896.53	89.65	986.18
7	2	19	609.61	896.53	89.65	986.18
8	3	22	914.42	1344.79	134.48	1479.27
9	3	25	914.42	1344.79	134.48	1479.27
10	3	28	914.42	1344.79	134.48	1479.27
11	2	30	609.61	896.53	89.65	986.18
12	2	32	609.61	896.53	89.65	986.18
Total	32	218	9753.77	14344.47	1434.45	15778.92

Three soil column tests were conducted. The geotextiles tested were RS380i (control, no wicking loops), FWL-T1, and FWL-T2. The results of the three column tests performed are presented in FIGS. 12 (RS380i control), 13 (FWL-T1 uniaxial wicking), and 14 (FWL-T2 biaxial wicking). The change in moisture content in the sensor right above the geotextile (Sensor M2) was identified as well as the change in moisture content showing that breakthrough has occurred (Sensor M1). From these two values, the parameter identified as “flow delta” was determined. The end of the test was achieved once the moisture content was stabilized and water was collected in the tipping buckets (outflow detected).

Table 6 summarizes the testing characteristics and results for the three soil column tests. The flow delta in the soil column constructed using RS380i developed a comparatively significant capillary barrier, which was 5.3 times higher than that obtained for the soil columns using the FWL geotextiles. Additionally, the soil column using FWL-T1 and FWL-T2 stored about 577.8 mL and 620.1 mL of inflow, respectively, and had a similar flow delta (213 and 208 mL). This similarity in flow delta reflected a similar behavior in unimpeded cross plane flow (anti-capillary barrier), i.e., for flow was applied perpendicular to the geotextiles.

TABLE 6
Soil column results
						Volumetric moisture
	Relative					content (initial,	Time to	Total inflow to
	compaction	Dry density		Applied flow		breakthrough	Breakthrough	Breakthrough	Flow delta
Test	(%)	(g/cm3)	Porosity	(mL/min)	Geotextile				(min)	(mL)	(mL)
1	77.2	1.47	0.457	0.45	RS380i	0.15	0.34	—	3410	1534.5	1,122
2	77.2	1.47	0.457	0.45	FWL-T1	0.15	0.24	0.35	1284	577.8	213
3	77.2	1.47	0.457	0.45	FWL-T2	0.15	0.20	0.3	1378	620.1	208
indicates data missing or illegible when filed

The volumetric moisture content retained before breakthrough was between 5 and 9%. In terms of time, it took about 1300 minutes for the FWL geotextiles soil column to reach breakthrough. Based on the information presented in Table 7, it can be concluded that the RS380i geotextile generated a comparatively strong capillary barrier, with comparatively high moisture being stored within the clay prior to breakthrough.

The FWL-1 and FWL-2 geotextiles were cross-plane enhanced drainage (CPED) geotextiles. Buildup of moisture was observed after breakthrough, which may indicate that the impinging flow of 0.45 ml/min for the column may be higher than the magnitude of cross-plane flow that can be conducted unimpeded through the geotextile. A higher frequency of ‘wicking’ yarns in the FWL products was expected to provide a higher unimpeded flow (or, conversely, the current frequency of yarns was well suited for smaller impinging flow rates).

Three different capillary barrier setups were tested using experimental soil column models to observe the formation of a capillary barrier. An unsaturated silty clay from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal was used to prepare the columns. The two prototype products (FWL geotextiles) yielded similar results, and showed that they were CPED geotextiles, with the magnitude of the unimpeded flow rate being possibly controlled by the number of ‘wicking’ yarns per unit area. As expected, the control (RS580i) geotextile developed a comparatively strong capillary barrier.

Example 4

Contact angles formed by water droplets on the fabric surfaces were measured over time. Water droplets were placed on wicking fibers and non-wicking fibers to compare matric suction, which would demonstrate the ability to draw moisture from surrounding soil, and wettability, which demonstrates the ability of moisture to break into the fabric structure rapidly.

FIG. 15 illustrates the results of contact angle changes (degrees) over time for droplets of 2 and 5 microliters of water on wicking fibers of wicking geotextiles (WG) and control geotextiles (CG). As shown, the wicking yarns in the fabric created an instantly wettable filtration geotextile as measure by contact angles, which demonstrated the utility of wicking looped yarns in geotextiles used for water movement across the plane of the fabric.

Example 5

Geotextiles with wicking loops were calendared. The uncalendared fabric is shown on the left side of FIG. 16, and the calendared fabric is shown on the right of FIG. 16. Water droplets were placed on the fabrics, and water was collected beneath to test the effect of calendaring on the ability of water to drain through the fabrics. As shown, calendaring resulted in tightening of the wicking yarn loops and allowed the water to spread within the fabric more readily, which surprisingly improved wettability. Table 7 shows the effects of calendaring. FWL402 D-T1 and FWL700 D-T1 fabrics included wicking loops, and FW700 did not include wicking loops.

TABLE 7
Calendaring effects
			Strain at			Strain at
	Tmax		Nominal			Nominal		COS
	MD	ε MD	MD	Tmax CD	ε CD	CD	CBR	O90 ISO
	ISO10319	ISO10319	ISO10319	ISO10319	ISO10319	ISO10319	ISO12236	12956
	kN/m	%	%	kN/m	%	%	kN	mm
FWL402	54.99	16.4	14.66	32.1	10.24	8.88	3.93	0.234
D-T1
FWL700	57.35	13.2	10.98	29.8	14.64	11.64	5.34	0.162
D-T1
FW700	55.3	12.43	9.52	33.47	14.26	12.21	5.46	0.14
						Mass
		AOS O95	Permittivity	Permeability	Flow rate	ISO	Thickness
		ASTM D	ISO11058	ISO 11058	Q50 ISO	9864	ISO
		4751 mm	1/S	cm/s	11058l/m2/s	g/m2	9863 mm
	FWL402	0.343	1.593	0.134	79.7	221.1	0.84
	D-T1
	FWL700	0.282	0.167	0.009	8.3	225.0	0.54
	D-T1
	FW700	0.208	0.470	0.020	23.8	208.6	0.42

Example 6

FIGS. 21A and 21B show the difference between water transport through a 100% monofilament warp and fill yarn fabric (FIG. 21A) and a biaxial wicking loop fabric made from the same base fabric but with additional wicking loop yarns added. Even after adding 15 drops of water from a dropper, the pool of water did not penetrate through the fabric (FIG. 21A). However, when wicking loops are added to the same fabric, a single drop of water is instantly transported through the fabric via the wicking loops (FIG. 21B).

Example 7

Capillary barrier and breakthrough tests were conducted on various fabrics. 180N, HP570, and RS580i are nonwovens without wicking yarns. H2Ri and FW402 are nonwovens with multi-lobal wicking yarns (without loops). FWL is the same as FW402, but with loops included. As shown, adding wicking loops significantly reduces the soil saturation level at capillary breakthrough (59.1% for FWL compared to 72.2% for FW402), as well as the time to capillary breakthrough (1250 min for FWL compared to 1500 min for FW402).

TABLE 8
Capillary barrier and breakthrough tests
	Initial	Breakthrough	Time to	Saturation at
	moisture	moisture cont.	breakthrough	breakthrough
Sample	content (%)	(%)	(min)	(%)
180N	14	44	3144	96.3
(nonwoven)
HP570	15	43	2520	94.1
RS580i	13	36	1940	89.7
H2Ri	13	31	1350	72.7
FW402	13	31	1500	72.2
FWL	14	25	1250	59.1

The compositions, methods, and articles can alternatively comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of, any appropriate materials, steps, or components herein disclosed. The compositions, methods, and articles can additionally, or alternatively, be formulated so as to be devoid, or substantially free, of any materials (or species), steps, or components, that are otherwise not necessary to the achievement of the function or objectives of the compositions, methods, and articles.

All ranges disclosed herein are inclusive of the endpoints, and the endpoints are independently combinable with each other (e.g., ranges of “up to 25 wt. %, or, more specifically, 5 wt. % to 20 wt. %”, is inclusive of the endpoints and all intermediate values of the ranges of “5 wt. % to 25 wt. %,” etc.). “Combinations” is inclusive of blends, mixtures, alloys, reaction products, and the like. The terms “first,” “second,” and the like, do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another. The terms “a” and “an” and “the” do not denote a limitation of quantity and are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. “Or” means “and/or” unless clearly stated otherwise. As used herein, the terms “comprising” “including,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean “including” but not limited to, unless otherwise noted. “About” or “approximately” as used herein is inclusive of the stated value and means within an acceptable range of deviation for the particular value as determined by one of ordinary skill in the art, considering the measurement in question and the error associated with measurement of the particular quantity (i.e., the limitations of the measurement system). For example, “about” can mean within one or more standard deviations, or within ±10% or ±5% of the stated value. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”), is intended merely to better illustrate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention as used herein.

Reference throughout the specification to “an aspect”, “an embodiment”, and so forth, means that a particular element described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment described herein, and may or may not be present in other embodiments. In addition, it is to be understood that the described elements may be combined in any suitable manner in the various embodiments. A “combination thereof” is open and includes any combination comprising at least one of the listed components or properties optionally together with a like or equivalent component or property.

Various embodiments of the present invention are described herein with reference to the related drawings. Alternative embodiments can be devised without departing from the scope of this invention. Although various connections and positional relationships (e.g., over, below, adjacent, etc.) are set forth between elements in the following description and in the drawings, persons skilled in the art will recognize that many of the positional relationships described herein are orientation-independent when the described functionality is maintained even though the orientation is changed. These connections and/or positional relationships, unless specified otherwise, can be direct or indirect, and the present invention is not intended to be limiting in this respect. Accordingly, a coupling of entities can refer to either a direct or an indirect coupling, and a positional relationship between entities can be a direct or indirect positional relationship. As an example of an indirect positional relationship, references in the present description to forming layer “A” over layer “B” include situations in which one or more intermediate layers (e.g., layer “C”) is between layer “A” and layer “B” as long as the relevant characteristics and functionalities of layer “A” and layer “B” are not substantially changed by the intermediate layer(s).

The following definitions and abbreviations are to be used for the interpretation of the claims and the specification. As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having,” “contains” or “containing,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a composition, a mixture, process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but can include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such composition, mixture, process, method, article, or apparatus.

Additionally, the term “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance or illustration.” Any embodiment or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. The terms “at least one” and “one or more” are understood to include any integer number greater than or equal to one, i.e. one, two, three, four, etc. The terms “a plurality” are understood to include any integer number greater than or equal to two, i.e. two, three, four, five, etc. The term “connection” can include an indirect “connection” and a direct “connection.”

References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodiment described can include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may or may not include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

For purposes of the description hereinafter, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “right,” “left,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the described structures and methods, as oriented in the drawing figures. The terms “overlying,” “atop,” “on top,” “positioned on” or “positioned atop” mean that a first element, such as a first structure, is present on a second element, such as a second structure, wherein intervening elements such as an interface structure can be present between the first element and the second element. The term “direct contact” means that a first element, such as a first structure, and a second element, such as a second structure, are connected without any intermediary conducting, insulating or semiconductor layers at the interface of the two elements.

The terms “about,” “substantially,” “approximately,” and variations thereof, are intended to include the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity based upon the equipment available at the time of filing the application. For example, “about” can include a range of ±8% or 5%, or 2% of a given value.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

While the preferred embodiments to the invention have been described, it will be understood that those skilled in the art, both now and in the future, may make various improvements and enhancements which fall within the scope of the claims which follow. These claims should be construed to maintain the proper protection for the invention first described.

Claims

1. A geotextile fabric comprising:

a first weft yarn woven in a weft direction; and

a first warp yarn and a second warp yarn woven in a warp direction, the first warp yarn being a wicking yarn, and the second warp yarn being a wicking yarn or a non-wicking yarn, the first warp yarn forming a first loop that is woven through and extends from a first face of the woven geosynthetic fabric and across at least two of the first weft yarns to form a first gap between the first loop and first the face of the woven geosynthetic fabric.

2. A geotextile fabric comprising:

a first cross machine direction yarn arranged in at any angle respective to a machine direction; and

a first machine direction yarn and a second machine direction yarn in a machine direction, the first machine direction yarn being a wicking yarn, and the second machine direction yarn being a wicking yarn or a non-wicking yarn, the first machine direction yarn forming a first loop that is stitched to the geotextile fabric and extends from a first face of the geotextile fabric and across at least two of the first cross machine direction yarns to form a first gap between the first loop and the first face of the geotextile fabric.

3. The geotextile fabric of claim 1, wherein the first gap formed between the first loop and the face of the woven geosynthetic fabric is at least 0.25 millimeters, or about 10 to about 50 millimeters.

4. The geotextile fabric of claim 1, wherein:

the first warp yarn forming the first loop is interlaced at a less frequent interval than the second warp yarn;

the first warp yarn also forms a second loop that extends from a second face of the woven geosynthetic fabric and across at least two of the weft yarns to form a second gap between the second loop and the second face of the woven geotextile fabric;

the first loop has a length that is different than the second loop;

or any combination thereof.

5. The woven geotextile fabric of claim 1, wherein:

the first warp yarn has a multichannel cross-sectional shape, a multi-lobal cross-sectional shape, a delta cross-sectional shape, a trilobal cross-sectional shape, a pillow cross-sectional shape, or a round cross-sectional shape;

the second warp yarn is a flat monofilament, a round monofilament, an oval monofilament, a fibrillated tape, a non-fibrillated tape, a continuous filament, a spun yarn, or a multichannel yarn;

or a combination thereof.

6. The geotextile fabric of claim 1, wherein, each independently, the first warp yarn, the first weft yarn, and the second weft yarn, comprises:

a synthetic material, a natural material, or a combination thereof; and optionally,

the synthetic material is a polyolefin, a polyamide, a polyimide, or a combination thereof;

the synthetic material is a polyester;

the natural material is cotton, wool, flax, or a combination thereof;

any combination thereof;

or twisted or entangled in any combination thereof.

7. The geotextile of claim 1, wherein the first weft yarn, the second weft yarn, or both the first weft yarn and the second weft yarn has a multichannel cross-sectional shape, a multilobal cross-sectional shape, a delta cross-sectional shape, a trilobal cross-sectional shape, a pillow cross-sectional shape, or a round cross-sectional shape.

8. The geotextile fabric of claim 1, wherein the first warp yarn is texturized; a bundle of fibers, each fiber with a denier of about 0.1 denier to about 100 denier; or a combination thereof.

9. The geotextile fabric of claim 1, wherein:

the first weft yarn is a wicking yarn or a non-wicking yarn;

the second weft yarn is a wicking yarn;

or a combination thereof.

10. The geotextile fabric of claim 1, wherein:

the geotextile further comprises a second weft yarn woven in the weft direction;

a contact angle of a 2-microliter water droplet on the first face of the woven geotextile is less than or equal to 55 degrees after 0.1 microseconds;

the wicking yarn has a breakthrough suction of at least 50 kPa;

or any combination thereof.

11. The geotextile fabric of claim 1, wherein:

the geotextile fabric is sewn into a dewatering bag or geotube; and optionally,

the dewatering bag or geotube comprises rare earth elements, acid mining sludge, or a combination thereof.

12. The geotextile fabric of claim 11, wherein:

the dewatering bag or geotube is arranged on a drainage layer or a drainage gravel layer, and optionally further on a subgrade layer;

a portion of the dewatering bag or geotube is exposed to air;

or a combination thereof.

13. The geotextile fabric of claim 2, wherein the first cross machine direction yarn is woven, knitted, adhered, stitched, sewn, or laid at the angle with respect to the machine direction.

14. The geotextile fabric of claim 2, wherein the first cross-machine direction yarn and the second machine direction yarn form a scrim base fabric, and all of the first loops are on the first face of the fabric by a binding yarn.

15. The geotextile fabric of claim 2, wherein the first machine direction yarn, the second machine direction yarn, or a combination thereof has a multichannel cross-sectional shape, a multi-lobal cross-sectional shape, a delta cross-sectional shape, a trilobal cross-sectional shape, a pillow cross-sectional shape, or a round cross-sectional shape.

16. The geotextile fabric of claim 2, wherein the first machine direction yarn, the second machine direction yarn, and the first cross machine direction yarn, each independently, comprises a synthetic material, a natural material, or a combination thereof;

and optionally, one or more of the following,

the synthetic material is a polyolefin, a polyamide, a polyimide, or a combination thereof;

the synthetic material is a polyester; and

the natural material is cotton, wool, flax, or a combination thereof.

17. The geotextile fabric of claim 2, wherein the first machine direction yarn is texturized; a bundle of fibers, each fiber with a denier of about 0.1 denier to about 100 denier; or a combination thereof.

18. The geotextile fabric of claim 2, wherein the first cross machine direction yarn is a wicking yarn or a non-wicking yarn; the second cross machine direction yarn is a wicking yarn; or a combination thereof.

19. The geotextile fabric of claim 2, further comprising a second cross-machine direction yarn woven in the cross-machine direction.

20. A method of moving water through a geotextile fabric, the method comprising:

providing a geotextile fabric on a first soil layer or a drainage layer, the geotextile fabric comprising a first warp yarn and a second warp yarn woven in a warp direction, the first warp yarn being a wicking yarn, and the second warp yarn being a wicking yarn or a non-wicking yarn, the first warp yarn forming a first loop that is woven through and extends from a first face of the woven geosynthetic fabric and across at least two of the first weft yarns to form a first gap between the first loop and first the face of the woven geosynthetic fabric; and

using the alternating loops in the geotextile fabric to move water from the first soil layer to a second soil or a second drainage layer.

21-62. (canceled)