It is now very difficult to find a construction site that does not utilise any geosynthetic products. Materials used in the manufacture of geosynthetics are primarily synthetic polymers – generally derived from the by-products of the oil industry. As a result of the finite nature of these raw materials and their associated pollution streams, there is growing pressure to use renewable resources for sustainable production. Also, the majority of geosynthetic applications are only required to perform for a short period of time, thereby leaving an alien residual in the ground for many years to come. Natural (vegetable) fibres provide a more sustainable alternative to polymeric based materials, particularly for short-term applications – termed limited-life geotextiles (LLGs). This paper presents an overview of an extensive study that has been undertaken on the development of reinforcing LLGs manufactured from renewable and biodegradable vegetable fibres for short-term applications. Initially, structural form is considered. It is shown that LLGs can have tensile strength of up to 100 kN.m-1, which is directly comparable to a mid-range geosynthetic product. The shear interaction properties of the LLGs was then compared to a number of different commercially available geotextile structures – manufactured from both natural and synthetic materials. The results demonstrate that coefficient of interaction values of around unity can be achieved with these LLGs. This is about 20–25% more shear resistance than their synthetic equivalent. The difference stemming primarily from the coarseness of the vegetable fibres themselves but also from the novel structural form. In terms of longevity, durability tests have been undertaken on the LLGs in various ground conditions. The data obtained indicate that degradation rates are sensitive to fibre type, together with the amount of water present in the soil. Coir fibre performed the best in worst deterioration environment tested. A simple basal embankment analysis is then presented to demonstrate a potential end application for the short-term reinforcing LLGs. In this analysis, it is shown that the rate at which the underlying embankment soil gains in effective stress, due to the dissipation of excess pore water pressure, could be designed to correspond to the decline in tensile strength from the degrading LLG.
ORCID: 
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)