Constriction Size of Geotextile Filters
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 131, Issue 1
Abstract
Filtration performance of nonwoven geotextiles strongly depends on pore opening constriction size, i.e., the minimum opening size of flow channels across the geotextile. Currently available methods of pore opening characterizations do not provide accurate information about the constriction size. This paper presents the constriction size distributions of eleven nonwoven geotextiles commonly used as filters based on a probabilistic approach coupled with image analysis, named constriction size (CONS). The image analysis method was developed using mathematical morphology operations. Randomness in the structure of geotextile media was modeled using Markov chain processes. Two characteristic constriction sizes, and , were determined and compared with the available results from laboratory tests, theoretical equations, and manufacturer’s reported apparent opening sizes. The CONS-based constriction size was comparable to determined using the bubble point test. On the other hand, the CONS-based was consistently lower than the manufacturer’s reported apparent opening size, which is typically determined on the basis of the dry sieving test. Similarly, the CONS-based , was highly comparable with the value suggested by a theoretical equation. The observed differences in the constriction sizes determined by CONS versus the available physical tests may be reflective of the nature and indirectness of the physical tests rather than inaccuracies associated with CONS, which is based on direct observation of pore openings.
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Acknowledgments
The writers would like to express their appreciation to Mr. Brian Hess, manager of the Thin Section Laboratory of the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for his assistance and guidance during the specimen preparation. Dr. Gregory B. Baecher and Dr. David J. Lovell of the University of Maryland are thanked for reviewing the initial draft of this paper.
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© 2004 ASCE.
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Received: Feb 12, 2003
Accepted: Apr 30, 2004
Published online: Jan 1, 2005
Published in print: Jan 2005
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