In recent years, a new material called geotextile filter material has come into use in the textile field. Geotextile filter material is a non-woven material made primarily from petroleum fibers. Manufacturers have offered various products in thicknesses, apprarent opening sizes, and tensile strengths, and because it is an industrial product, it is possible to obtain uniform material at a relatively low price. If it were possible to use this material as filter material in rock fill dams, the cost of dam construction could be reduced.
This report presents the results of a study of the feasibility of using geotextile filter material as filter material in rock fill dams. By installing geotextile filter material between the impervious zone and the semi-impervious zone of a rock fill dam, even though the filter is made of coarse gravel or other material that does not satisfy grain size standards.