Mesh Matting, hand knotted coir nettings. Woven coir geo meshes and nettings hold seed and soil
intact on slopes, drainage ways and other areas of concentrated
water flow, preventing erosion during heavy rainstorms. Coir geo
meshes and netting are heavy woven mulch that stay together and
cannot be moved by flowing water, wind or growing grass. The openings
between the strands give the grass or vegetation plenty of room
to grow on.
Types of Mesh Mattings
Material composition: Coir geotextiles are made of 100% coir or in association
with other natural fibers.
(As
per relevant International Standards)
Material composition: The Coir non-woven blankets are made of 100% coir fiber,
randomly needle punched to get the desired degree of compaction.
The felts have excellent moisture absorption and retention characteristics
and are ideal medium for plant growth. Two Al Toprani woven coir geotextiles combine to form a bed/cushion.
It can be produced in different thickness, width and length according
to customer requirements. Relatively steep stream banks can be covered
with pre-planted coir beds. Sediments will be collected and held
in coir beds, which will help plant growth. The mesh matting differs because of different aperture
size and also because of the difference in quality of the yarn used: Types of yarns used
Al Toprani coir beds will have a minimum wide width tensile
strength of 8 KN/m and absorbs more than 200% of water. Al Toprani coir
beds will have a minimum permeability of about 9 cm/sec.
Coir is a 100% organic fiber from a renewable source –
the coconut husk. Naturally resistant to rot, moulds and moisture,
it needs no chemical treatment. Hard and strong, it can be spun
and woven into mattings. They also have the right strength and durability
to protect the slopes from erosion, while allowing vegetation to
flourish. They can dissipate the energy of flowing water and absorb
the excess solar radiation.
Coir is a natural
fibre and in the manufacturing of coir Geotextiles no harmful chemicals
are used it is 100% environment-friendly. Experimental evidence
shows that even after six months of usage more than fifty percent
of the strength of the yarn is retained. The drip
ability of coir Geotextiles
allows them to conform in intimate contact with the soil.
Coir Geotextiles have an ability to absorb water which helps the
growth of vegetation. Since coir Geotextile
is a neutral material it is biodegradable and improves the fertility
of soil. Complete degradation of the coir geotextiles takes place
in 3 to 5 years. It is not harmful to human beings, plants and animals.
It is 100% environmentally friendly.
Jute Geotextiles These are woven geo mesh mattings with jute instead of
coir. Jute decomposes much faster than coir and so these jute textiles
are used where the desired durability of the geotextiles is low,
like lawns in golf course, gardens etc. Applications Coir geotextiles are currently used in erosion control
measures such as growing of vegetation on highway shoulders and
embankments and also in protecting the banks of lakes, canals
and rivers. Coir geotextiles give maximum protection to the soil until
the grass takes root and provides a permanent coverage. After the
stabilization of soil, the nettings decompose gradually and provide
nourishment to grass growing on the soil medium. The netting gives
plenty of room to grow and at the same time provide a large number
of “check daks”. The accuracy of Coir geotextiles, with a density of 500g/m2, in
reducing the water velocity and soil loss is reported to be 77%
and 98.4% respectively relative to bare soil conditions (cammack-1988).
Schurholz 1988 reports that coir retained about 20% of its strength
after one year in incubator test with soil at 28-30Ü c and 90% humidity
whereas jute biodegraded fully after eight weeks. Coir geotextiles can be used either as an overlay or an
interlay – the former protecting the surface from run-off and the
latter performing the functions of separation, filtration and drainage.
Soil bio – engineering with Coir geotextiles finds effective
application in the following situations:
ReinforcementCoir nettings with tensile strength and the friction between
coir and soil is adequate to justify its application for use in
slope stability problems and helps development of shear surface
and thus enables greater heights of fill to be built than would
otherwise be possible. Coir sub – base layer in Road pavementsThe use of closely knitted Coir geotextiles as an
interface between the sub grade and the sub base increases the strength
of the pavement and prevents intermingling of the soil and the granular
sub base and improves drainage. Coir net also acts as a support
membrane and reduces localized distress to the road surface by redistributing
traffic loads over a wider area of the road surface. Figures show
the suggested pavement with coir fabric. Gardening Unique advantage of coir geotextiles when compared to
other natural fibers is that frequency of watering can be reduced
due to its high water retention capacity (can hold 3 times its own
weight). Coir
cut fibre: the small fibre bit which
is waste during the sieving of coir dust is used as growing media
in the horticulture and floral gardens. Coir
basket and poles: the combination
of soak and grow and the liner gives maximum moisture retention
for your basket plants. Coir
liners: all wall mounted baskets come
with rubberised coir liner and universal wall mount. The wall mount
is also ideal for attaching the basket to fencing without the need
for drilling holes. Husk
chips: dried husk are cut into various
small, medium, large size mixed with charcoal and firewood and used
as hot mixture for orchid and anthurieum plantations.
• Excellent air and water permeability • Enough sunlight passes through • Holds the seeds and saplings in place • High water retaining capacity • Excellent medium for quick vegetation • Degrades over a period of time (2.5
to 6 years) • Allows for deep rooting of plants
and provides nutrients. • Easy to install and follows the contour
of the soil surface. • Eco-friendly and nonpolluting. The unique properties of coconut fiber and Coir
geotextiles to absorb water and degrade with time give it a definite
edge over synthetic geotextiles in various applications. The use
of geotextiles during the past three decades has increased from
10.2 million Square. Meter is 1970 to 1400 million square meter
in 2000. But the Geotextiles made out of natural fiber account for
only 0.001%. The rest is enjoyed by plastic materials!! The major
drawback in coir Geotextile industry is non availability of proper
specifications/procedure as well as that of well documented scientific
field studies.
The first step in the application of Coir Geotextiles
is to make a detailed study of the sites; Slope assessment, nature
and consistency of the soil cover, the extent of damage, rainfall
patterns etc. to make the right and relevant choice of Coir geotextiles
for the site, as well as the seeds or saplings. Site preparation
and laying procedure The ground has to be prepared by removing protruding stones,
earth masses etc. The surface must be made relatively free
of weeds, stones, roots, sticks, rivulets, gullies, crusting and
caking. After preparing the soil surface, the seeds have to be
applied on the surface by hand broadcasting or by hydraulic means
and the blanket/mat must be laid over the seeds almost immediately. The seeds/plants have to be obtained depending on the
climatic conditions, preferably the local species as per client’s
instructions. The seeds after germination should take up deep rooting
system. The seeds should match the soil conditions to get optimum
germination, root development, vegetation density and longevity. The erosion control blankets are to be laid in the direction
of the water flow starting from the top to the bottom. The top portion
has to be anchored in a cut trench and stapled or spiked to fix
properly. Similar procedure has to be followed at the bottom of
the slope also for best results. The blankets may be anchored with
11 gauge wire staples, of size 8” x 2” x 8” (U shaped) One or two
doses of sprinkling is recommended if the weather is hot and dry.
For the first few days, the moisture levels must be properly monitored
to facilitate easy germination of the seeds. The blanket will protect the slopes against rain water.
The vegetation will get established to protect the slopes permanently
and achieve greening effect on the surface. Seeding/Planting Methods: Quick germination, sod forming, grass species must be
used whenever possible. While seeding/planting always match the
seed/sapling to be used with the local soil conditions for optimum
results. Standard seed broadcast methods are acceptable prior to
erosion control blanket installation. |
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