Aging effects of environmental factors on rolled erosion control products

This thesis presents a study made on erosion control blankets with respect to their aging and longevity. Erosion control blankets have been relied upon increasingly in recent times replacing the old and traditional methods for protecting areas from erosion by storm water and other factors. But what can be an estimated duration for which a given set of blankets can be functional in channel erosion control. This research is done with the ultimate aim of understanding whether these erosion control blankets can stay in place and be conducive to some vegetation growth, which is said to be the most reliable measure for long-lasting erosion control. Seven erosion control blankets, consisting of natural, synthetic and composite types, were put to actual use for erosion control for 3 years in a field. After 3 years these used materials were cut from the field for conducting the tests. Unused blankets of the same brands were obtained. Index tests were conducted on both used and unused material specimens to measure the erosion control properties. All materials experienced a significant amount of strength loss after use. The natural materials show 80% strength loss, while the composite and synthetic materials were tested to have around 50% strength losses after being put to use for 3 years. Thus it can be observed that the composite and synthetic materials have a decent amount of life where erosion control is concerned. Other tests also proved that composite materials can be relied upon for erosion control to a reasonable extent, and the research goal was achieved.