Introduction Soil mass instability on steep slopes presents significant challenges for erosion control and soil stabilization, requiring the development of biodegradable geotextile alternatives. This study aimed to evaluate the resistance of geotextiles produced from Syagrus coronata (Mart.) Becc. fibers, treated with waterproofing resin, subjected to the effects of exposure to degradation under environmental conditions.Methods Geotextile samples were exposed to solar radiation, rain, wind, and soil microorganisms; mechanical behavior was assessed via tensile strength and static puncture tests, supplemented by scanning electron microscopy. Statistical analyses, including ANOVA-RM and regression models, were applied to discern the effects of exposure time and resin treatments on the fibers' performance.Results and discussion Key findings indicate that a single-layer resin treatment significantly prolongs the mechanical viability of the fibers over 120 days, maintaining higher ultimate tensile strength compared to untreated or double-layer-treated fibers. Although double-layer resin provided an initially higher tensile resistance, it accelerated structural failures beyond 90 days, while untreated fibers were nonviable after 60 days. These results highlight a trade-off between stiffness and durability, evidencing that a single-layer resin application delivers an optimal balance of mechanical resilience and flexibility. These findings suggest that a single-layer resin treatment provides a balance between durability and mechanical performance, making it a suitable choice for eco-friendly geotextile applications. Properly treated Syagrus coronata fibers emerge as an economical and sustainable alternative for geotextiles, offering greater durability and contributing to improving slope stabilization and erosion control in environmental conditions of recovery and revegetation of degraded areas.

Geotextiles are widely being used for different soil engineering applications such as filtration, separation, drainage, reinforcement and erosion control. Synthetic geotextiles are mainly produced from the petroleum-derived polymeric materials. The environmental awareness and concern towards sustainability necessitated the application of a more sustainable alternative with natural fibre-based geosynthetics. In this paper, the physical and mechanical properties of five different natural fibres, namely abaca, coir, jute, pineapple and sisal fibres, which could be a suitable candidate for geotextile applications have been analysed and compared. Out of the five different types of the fibres analysed in the present study, the highest average diameter, density and flexural rigidity were found to be for coir and the lowest were found to be for pineapple. It was observed that all the five types of the fibres have the potential for soil reinforcement applications. The unconfined compressive strength of the unreinforced clay was increased by 2, 3.3, 4. 4.1 and 5 times, when reinforced with abaca, coir, pineapple, sisal and jute fibres, respectively. However, jute fibres have low rigidity. The present study concluded that these natural fibres can perform effectively as a raw material for geotextiles. Pineapple fibre absorbs high amount of water and hence may degrade faster comparing to other natural fibres. The fibres which contain high proportion of cellulose possess high tensile strength. For coir fibres, due to the presence of high amount of lignin the life is comparatively high. Thus, blending of the fibres in suitable proportions can complement each other and can lead to the production of better geotextile materials in various applications. Considering the durability, strength and compatibility in blending and spinning, an attempt was made in the present study to develop woven geotextiles from 50% coir:50% sisal blended yarns which are found to be superior in functional characteristics.

Horizontal drains are gradually introduced to the vacuum preloading method to improve dredged slurries by adding geotextiles to alleviate the blockage in the consolidation process. This study considers the consolidation of slurries enhanced by the vacuum preloading method with geotextile combined horizontal drains based on a double-layered consolidation model. The model approximates geotextile as a special soil layer possessing an equivalent consolidation factor. An analytical solution of the layered consolidation model is obtained using the Laplace transform and the finite Fourier transform method. The effectiveness of the solution is verified by comparing it with the one-dimensional double-layered consolidation solution and the one-dimensional consolidation with a partially permeable boundary. Through comparison with laboratory experiments, the model shows good fitness with the test results in the literature. The influences of related parameters, including the drain arrangement densities, soil parameters, and geotextile parameters, are discussed on average consolidation degree and pore water pressure. The influence mechanism is explained regarding drainage path and vacuum pressure transfer. Findings demonstrate that geotextile facilitates vacuum transfer and promotes soil consolidation, especially when the smaller density of drains' deposition and lower soil permeability are applied.

Freezing conditions under different humidity will influence the mechanical properties of geotextiles, leading to the gradual fracture of geotextiles. It brings hidden danger to the whole isolation, reinforcement and protection of rock and soil. It is particularly important to study the tensile and puncture properties of geotextiles considering low temperature and moisture content. In this paper, a series of tensile and puncture tests of geotextiles are performed under different low temperatures (0, -3, -6, -9, and -12 degrees C) and at different moisture content levels (0, 5, 10, 30, 50, and 80%). From the microscopic perspective, the failure mechanism considering the low temperature and moisture content was explained comprehensively. Experimental results indicate that with a decrease in freezing temperature, the tensile strength of geotextiles increases as a parabolic function while the elongation at failure decreases as an exponential function. Additionally, the puncture strength of geotextiles presented a parabolic increase with the decreasing temperature. Under the freezing temperature environment, the higher moisture content of geotextiles can generate a higher puncture strength increment. This research contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the tensile and puncture properties of geotextile materials considering low temperature and moisture content. It can provide important guidance for the design of slopes, the reinforcement of earthen dams, and roadbed reinforcement with geotextiles in cold regions.