Geotextiles have been commonly used as slope and basal reinforcements to improve the stability of embankments. Slopes are exposed to natural events such as seasonal wetting and drying as well as freezing and thawing. Water that accumulates in the slope reduces its shear strength, thus increas-ing the embankment’s susceptibility to slope movements. The performance of a woven geotextile with wicking capabilities is evaluated. The wicking function of the geotextile provides in-plane drainage for the water to flow out of the embankment. The wicking geotextile is compared to that of a geotextile with similar stiffness and surface texture but without the in-plane drainage capability. Properties obtained in the tensile and pullout tests are used in a commercially-available finite element software to compare and confirm the results obtained in the experimental tests under different confining pressures for both the wicking and non-wicking geotextile fabrics. The behaviour observed from the numerical model matches the results of the experimental tests. The numerical model can be used by designers to predict and deter-mine expected responses of geotextile-reinforced saturated slopes.
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