Pipes with non-woven fabric

The term ‘non-woven fabric’ refers to a product similar to a fabric, but obtained through an industrial process. We are therefore not talking about the classic weaving of threads in an ordinary pattern, as with knitted fabric, rather ‘non-woven’ means a random arrangement of fibres.

The fibres used are both natural and synthetic and are placed on top of each other in layers or woven and bonded together with glues, adhesives or thermal processes. Examples of commonly used non-woven fabrics are wadding and felt.

Non-woven fabric is a material similar to fabric but cheaper and more practical, as it has the following advantages:

• water repellency;
• resistance to heat and low temperatures;
• low abrasiveness to the touch.

Non-woven fabric is also increasingly being used for the drainage and dispersion of rainwater into the ground. This material, also called geofabric or geotextile, is used to prevent soil infiltration.

It is generally used to:

• cover slotted pipes. Many companies already supply the drainage pipe with non-woven fabric sleeve in order to facilitate pipe laying and reduce possible installation errors;
• cover the section of excavations where the dispersion cells are placed. In this case, the geotextile must be laid crosswise to the length of the excavation, and at the joints of the fabric there must be an overlap of about 50 cm, and then the cells are completely wrapped.

Geotextile can be made in a variety of weights depending on its application; the non-woven fabric for drainage must have an air mass ≥ 150 g/m² so that it promotes the release of water but hinders the ingress of solid materials.

Slotted pipes                            Dispersion cells