Introduction

In view of the growing use of geosynthetics in civil engineering on the one hand and the absence of proper information on the use of geosystems on the other hand, it was appropriate to confine this book to the treatment of geotextiles/geosynthetics used in geosystems in hydraulic and coastal engineering, rather than to the broader field of ‘geosynthetics in civil engineering’. The aims of this book are to review the pros and cons for the use of geotextiles/geosynthetics in various geosystems with applications in hydraulic and coastal engineering, to present relevant data gained from various studies, and to record data from projects where geotextiles and geosystems were installed. To achieve these aims various existing literature has been reviewed, information from the suppliers of the products has been collected, and the author’s own supplementary research for selected applications has been carried out and the results have been included.