Prediction of pore size characteristics of woven slit-film geotextiles subjected to unequal biaxial tensile strains

The basic pore unit model is extended to predict the strained pore size characteristics of woven slit-film geotextiles subjected to unequal biaxial tensile strains. The strained per cent open area (POA) and analytical pore size are expressed as functions of the weft strain and the warp strain to weft strain ratio. The influence of the biaxial tensile strain on pore size characteristics is evaluated in three woven slit-film polypropylene geotextile samples using image analysis under the warp strain to weft strain ratios of 1, 2, 3 and 4. It is shown that the experimental POA and O₉₅ increased significantly with increasing strain at different warp strain to weft strain ratios, and the PSD curves moved toward the direction of large open sizes. The analytical models of POA and pore size can accurately predict the increasing trend of POA and O₉₅. Moreover, unequal biaxial tensile strains can significantly change the shape of the pores, which may influence the results of the pore size obtained by indirect methods. A larger warp strain to weft strain ratio can lead to a larger change in the pore shape when the length to width ratios of initial pores are close to 1.