This career advancement award will enable the PI to work in a new area and enhance her research capabilities. The research deals with geotextiles, a relatively new and rapidly developing area in geotechnical engineering. Geotextiles are often used in drainage applications as a filter medium,i.e. when placed against soil they prevent the soil from moving or eroding, while allowing the free passage of water through the soil and the geotextile. However, if the fabric and soil are not properly matched, the filter (the fabric in this case) can become clogged with soil particles, and water will not pass through the drain. The drain has failed by clogging. This project will study the filtration behavior of nonwoven geotextiles when used in drainage applications with gap-graded and silty sands. The soil retention and clogging mechanism in nonwoven (both needle-punched and heat-bonded) geotextile fabric will be studied from macroscopic and microscopic points of view. The PI will work with Professors R.M. Koerner (Drexel University), A. Rollin (Ecole Polytechnique) and C. Tien (Syracuse University) to gain a deeper understanding in this new line of research. This project will also explore industrial interaction in the proposed area of study.
