Coir Geotextile Ecofriendly Alternative for Geotechnical Applications

COIR GEO TEXTILES

Coir Geotextile, are permeable fabric made from 100% organic coir fibre extracted from coconut husk. Coir fibres are hard, strong and highly durable and resistant to rots, moulds and therefore needs no chemical treatment. Due to the high lignin content of coir fibres, these geotextiles are free of any microbial attack. These fibres decompose gradually and eventually disintegrate, leaving nothing but humus, which adds to the fertility of the soil.
Coir geotextiles are of two main categories Woven Coir Geotextile and Non-Woven Coir Geotextile. The woven coir geotextile, popularly known as “Coir Bhoovastra”, is made by the alternate interlacing of the warp and weft strands, and classified based on their weights. Non-woven geo textiles are formed from the random arrangement of coir fibres and bonded together thus giving it a planar structure. Coir geotextiles are used for different soil bio engineering applications in the construction of mud wall, soil erosion control, vegetation and greenery development in the mining dump yards, and construction of rural roads and slope and embankment stabilization.

MAJOR APPLICATION AREAS OF COIR BHOOVASTRA
i) Shoreline stabilization.
ii) Beautification of lakes and ponds.
iii) Reinforced soil retaining structures.
iv) Road / Railway / River embankment.
v) Mine site reclamation.
vi) Dams.
vii) Bearing capacity improvement for high-capacity traffic areas.
viii) Cuttings and hill slide slopes.
ix) Irrigation works.
x) Dam wicks / Table drain outlets.
xi) Roof top greening.
xii) Agricultural and horticultural application like mulching, anti-weed, vegetative seeding etc.
xiii) Protection from wind erosion.
xiv) Mud wall reinforcement.
xv) Separation application in rural roads, railways, parking and storage areas.
xvi) Reinforcement of rural unpaved roads, temporary walls.
xvii) Providing sub base layer in road pavement.
xviii) Soil stabilization

Advantages of Coir Bhoovastra

• The high tensile strength of coir fibre protects steep surfaces from heavy flows and debris movement. It can withstand considerable pedestrian movement and vehicular traffic without deterioration.
• Easy to install and hugs contour of the soil surface due to its heavy weight and ability to absorb water.
• Totally bio degradable, 100% natural and provided nutrients.
• Water absorbent, thus acts as mulch on the surface and as a wick in the soil mantle.
• Environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing and non-polluting.
• Provides excellent microclimate for plant establishment and healthy growth.
• The thick and protruding fibres from the yarn render an extra protection against soil erosion and provide roughness to the surface floor and hold the soil particles in place.
• The coir geo textiles give the grass plenty of room to grow and at the same time provides large number of “Check Dams” per square meter of soil media. Due to high resistance to salt water action, the coir geo textiles remain virtually unaffected when used against wave lap erosion.
• In this age of growing environmental awareness coir geo textiles has become the ideal choice as a “Natural Geo textiles”.