3M Company, St. Paul, MN, has introduced 3M Geotextile Seaming Cylinder Spray Adhesive, a new method for seaming geotextile fabrics for uses including, but not limited to, erosion control, soil separation and subgrade stabilization applications.

The adhesive is an extremely versatile, fast-tacking construction-grade spray adhesive with a unique wide-web spray pattern, ideal for bonding geotextile fabrics. With this innovative solution, installers of geotextile fabric can see time-savings of more than 56% compared to sewing, the company says.

3M Geotextile Seaming Cylinder Spray Adhesive lets contractors create quick, permanent bonds on many geotextile fabrics, and also provides a seam strength that outperforms the fabric strength for many commonly used fabrics in the construction industry. The adhesive is packaged in a pre-pressurized cylinder for an easy-to-use, maintenance-free delivery system. Workers simply spray the adhesive on the two fabrics being bonded and apply pressure to the seam. The adhesive dries quickly, further enabling fast and efficient assembly. These simple steps create a bond strong enough to meet the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) M288-06 requirements for seam efficiency for a wide variety of specifications.

“There is no other product like this in the geotextile seaming industry, and those who specify this product will see a significant increase in productivity,” says Craig Moss, application development engineer, 3M. “The easy-to-use spray gun assembly will eliminate lost time due to equipment issues and save the owner and contractor money.”

In addition to high bond strengths, other key advantages of this product include labor, equipment and materials savings. By eliminating the need for expensive sewing machines and generators, contractors can also avoid unforeseen down time due to equipment maintenance and repair. Additionally, in some cases, use of 3M Geotextile Seaming Cylinder Spray Adhesive reduces the need for a geotextile material overlap from 24″ to 6″, providing additional material savings.

3M Geotextile Seaming Cylinder Spray Adhesive has already been approved for specification by the Departments of Transportation in the states of Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and New York, with additional approvals pending.