Tensile strength of plasma-treated nonwoven geotextiles

The surface of nonwoven geotextiles was modified by plasma treatment to improve their strength performance. Plasma treatment was applied to polyvinyl alcohol needle-punched geotextiles, polypropylene needle-punched geotextiles, and polyester spun-bonded geotextiles. The nonwoven geotextiles' tensile strength was measured before and after plasma treatment to compare the change in strength properties. The present experimental results show that the tensile strength of the nonwoven geotextiles increased after plasma treatment, with the largest increase observed in polyvinyl alcohol geotextiles (more than 200% gain in strength); polypropylene and polyester geotextiles showed a much lower gain in tensile strength (15–35% gain compared with the non-treated samples).