Geotextile

By: Rohan S. Kharge & Sanjay P. Khade

1

Geotextile
By: Rohan S. Kharge & Sanjay P. Khade Abstract Geotextile is a branch of technical textile virtually deals with the GEO means EARTH that is soil & rocks. st The geotextiles are magic panacea for almost all the geotechnical problems. As it was 1 used in 1926 by the South Carolina Highways Dept. in a series of road constriction. But, in 1973 three basic functions where identified by scientists Mr. Leflaife & Mr. Puig these are separation, filtration & then drainage. Therefore the manufacturing process of most widely used geotextile net which was made by Netlon in UK was patented in 1960. As the Indian economy is broadly dependant on agriculture, ours GDP fluctuates due to the agricultural production, but it is hampered due to various reasons like climate, rainfall, site situation, etc. out of which site situation is most important aspect as per as crop yield is concerned. Because, soil erosion is one of the critical problem which is due to severe rainfall, storms, etc & ultimately vegetation on these top soil becomes extreme difficult as loss of soil takes place. So in order to avoid soil erosion & to have better fertility of soil surface covering based geotextiles approaches tends to be more effective using jute material. Introduction The term geotextile refers to the textiles (fabric) used in geotechnical Engg. Basically geotextiles are of two st nd types 1 is synthetic & 2 natural. There are at least 20 types of synthetic geotextile. For 100 of years fibres from various sources (plants & animals) have been spun to make ropes & other similar product where the natural geotextile includes jute meshes, jute net, jute mat, jute burlap & other natural fibre fabrics. By turn of century synthetic fibres better known increasingly over past decades synthetics geotextiles have been developed & marketed, but among the natural fibres jute posses certain properties that offer number of advantages over synthetic counterpart. Therefore jute geotextile can be used in agricultural application as soil erosion where surface covering jute geotextiles mats are selected. And therefore jute geotextile have curbs on soil erosion providing necessary fertilizers to the crops including long time watering capacity if the dense & absorptive nature if jute. The woven jute about 5mm thick & weights about 500gm-800gm per square meter having an open area 60% is used, that is 40% of soil surface is covered & is therefore protected against direct raindrop impact, storms & growth of weeds. Also the thickness of woven jute provides rough surface of miniature dams which retards the movement of rain water & soil over the surface as well as jute can absorb 5 times its own weight of water limiting the surface run off & maintaining the sable moist environment for seed germination & as jute is biodegradable it get decomposes prior to harvesting of crop assisting the soil fertility. Therefore the application of geotextile in agriculture is to minimize the rate of soil erosion has got bright future as agro technology has demand of such innovative ideas to improve the crop yield sustaining the ecofriendly nature of process. Production & Emergence of Jute as Geotextile Jute has been cultivated in the Bengal Delta from time immemorial. A leafy, reed like plant which thrives under hot, humid, mansoon conditions growing typically 2.5 to 3 m in height over a period of 4 to 6 months. The stem diamerer at the base varies between 20 to 30 mm. the method of extraction of fibres from jute stalks is very simple. The jute plants are harvested, tied into bundles & kept submerged under water with a water hyacinth cover for about 5 weeks. The fibres are extracted from the rotten barks, washed in water & dried under the sun. Importance of jute as a commercial fibre begin in 1971, under the initiative of the British East India Company. Jute was then known as Indian Grass & subsequently it was given a name Golden Fibre of

Bengal. Some 20 years later, jute was used in Dundee(UK) which had been centre for waving coarse textiles for several hundred years for production of jute liens. Today, the production of jute is an enoromous industry with current production capacity of around 3 million tones per annum. Of this about 50% comes from Bangladesh, about 30% from India & the remaining from China & Thailand. Jute burlap was probably first used in the erosion control in the US long time ago where soil conservationists used jute mesh. For over last 20 years, the annual consumption of jute nets (geojute) in the US is stated to be around 3,000 tonnes for erosion control. Properties Extensive experimental investigations were carried out on various types of jute fibres & jute fabrics at the Department of Civil Engineering, National University of Singapore in order to study their physical & strength properties, & performance characteristics. From these investigations, the typical properties of jute fibres were fairly established. Basic requirement of jute fibres when used in producing good quality geotextile stability & long termdurability. PROPERTIES Fibre Length, mm Fibre Diameter, mm Specific Gravity Bulk Density, kg/m3 Ultimate Tensile Strengh, N/mm2 Modulus of Elastic, kN/mm2 Elongation of Elasticity, % Water Absorption, % RANGE OF VALUES 180-800 0.10-0.20 1.02-1.04 120-140 250-350 26-32 2-3 25-40

Structure of Jute as Geotextile Jute geotextile are marketed under a number of names which include jute fabric, jute burlap, jute net, jute, mesh, jute mat & geo jute. These products are also sold in trade names like Soil saver & Antiwash. Properties of jute fabric & jute burlap have already been discussed. Jute net, jute mesh, jute mat & geo jute are all anonymous. Geojute is a jute net or jute mesh which consists of a heavy, woven jute matting made from 100% jute yarn & has as open mesh structure. Regular grades are quoted as being available at 500 gm/m2 & heavy weight grade at 800 gm/m2.

Various Structures of Geo Jute Used In Agricultural Application Working Model of Jute Geotextile in Agriculture to Reduce Soil Erosion

Model Preparation Technology Woven geotextile that is particularly suited to the control of rainfall erosion, is thick open woven jute as shown in figure. This type of geotextile is typically about 5mm thick, has aperture about 15*15 mm& weights about 500 g/m2. A heavy weight grade of 800 g/m2 is also available. Open woven jute helps to protect slopes from erosion n a number of different ways. Firstly, it has an open area ratio of about 60% which means that about 40% of the soil surface is covered & is therefore protected against direct raindrop impact. Secondly, the thickness of the open woven jute provides a rough surface of miniature dams which retards the movement of rainwater & soil over the surface. Thirdly the jute can absorb almost five times its own weight. Fourthly, the decomposing jute fibres act like straw or peat mulch & assist in the retention of moisture & soil permeability. Importance of geo jute application in agriculture After harvesting, jute get decompose into soil as peat much or soil assisting like fertilizers to further crop. Watering cost is also minimized as earlier mentioned jute absorbs 5 times more weight of water & retains for several time which is useful for germination of seeds. Jute geofabric gives leatherious layer on the top soil which reduces the soil erosion. Jute geotextile is 100% eco friendlier in nature right from the cultivation of jute, Production Of Geotextile & Up To Its Harvesting. Durability Durability of jute geotextiles depends on the actions exercted by various physical, chemical& biological agents present in the environment. Based on the durability tests conducted on jute geotextile, it can be said that jute deteriorate with time. Techno Economics of Model These are the economical particulars of Pigeon P crop for 1 acre area. REQUIREMENTS Required jute material for 1 acres Farming & laying expenditure PARTICULARS 2400-3000 kg Including ploughing, fricking & labor 6-8 times harvesting. Miscellaneous includes spraying of insecticides, etc Harvesting expenditure Labor Sacks TOTAL 10,300-14,200 1000-1200/PRIZE 4800-6000/3000-5000/-

Watering & miscellaneous

1500-2000/-

So therefore using conventional agricultural practice of Pigeon P crop, it is economically effective but using jute as surface covering geotextile application, this process is more cheaper & efficient as per as the crop yield is concerned.

Why jute if there are others? The application of jute in agricultural is a right a way to adopt the clean & green agro technology. Because of it we get a simple production process & bio degradability with assisting fertility of soil. Some of the properties of jute are as follows, which evidently proves that it is the better alternative for control the soil erosion comparison with some other synthetics. TRADE NAME WEIGHT(gm/m2) THICKNESS (mm) GRAB TENSILE STRENGTH (N) 400 580 1128 800-900

Propex 4545 (P.P.) Typer (PET) Terram 140 (PET) JUTE FABRIC

153 136 280 680-750

15 15 1.1 1.75-1.85

Application Potential Several erosion control projects have been recently completed, in application where biodegradable geotextile (jute matting) has been preferred for ecological reasons. Soil stabilization, in many of these applications, has been achieved by the growth of vegetation whose roots can lend coherence to the subsoil & thereby prevent erosion. A natural fibre geotextile in this respect will allow vegetable cover a chance to establish itself while, at the same time, decomposing to provide an organic feed for such cover. Jute geotextile are bio degradable & takes 8 to 24 months to decompose. Recent case studies of jute geotextile erosion control projects include slope stabilization works carried out during construction of Interstate Highway 65 on very hilly terrain near Birmingham, Alabama (USA). The jute matting used in this project is marketed under the trade name of jute soil antiwash made of very coarse jute thread (2-5mm thick) & woven into an open mesh structure of about 600g/m2. For the purpose of bank stabilization & slope protection, the jute matting is generally fixed, using U- shaped metal staples. Both wire & matting staples usually decompose within 20-30 months. Conclusion Geo jute may prove more economical than geo-textiles. As synthetic geotextile are comparatively expensive, any economic advantage in their use must be well proven before they come into wider use. It is worth introducing the idea of using natural fibre geotextile such as jute. They are quick & easy to install & handle. Geotextile area feasible & economical alternative for a number of soil-improvement techniques. They can improve performance, increase safety factors & reduce construction costs.

Referances Geotextiles by N.W. John Jute Geotextiles by J.N.Mandan. Jute Gramodyog Mahamandal, Mumbai. www.colourclick.org www.ecotextiles.com

Authors are students of D.K.T.E, Ichalkaranji This paper was presented at event under national level grand fiesta PRAGYAA-2010 Department of Textile Technology of S G G S I E &T., Nanded.