Performance indices for unidirectional flow conditions considering woven Geotextiles and sediment slurries

Geotextile tubes have successfully been used to dewater a wide variety of low percent-solids sediments, slurries, by-products, and wastes. Because existing geotextile filter criteria have limited applicability in the geotextile tube environment, researchers and industry practitioners have adopted numerous indices to measure the retention and dewatering performance of geotextile tubes. As a result, data are published in many different forms using dissimilar performance criteria. Many of these performance measures have limited value, are difficult to interpret, and depend greatly upon material conditions and experimental methods. Using a fine grained non-plastic soil, woven geotextiles, and the pressure filtration test (PFT), this study aims to discuss the relevance and limitations of the most commonly used geotextile tube performance indices. In light of these limitations, recommendations are made for the adoption of more appropriate indices for evaluating performance.