Geotextile Materials Research Articles

Decision tree analysis to evaluate risks associated with lameness on dairy farms with automated milking systems

Lameness is an endemic disorder causing health problems and production losses in the dairy cow industry. The objective of this study was to identify cow and farm-level factors associated with lameness on Automatic Milking System (AMS) farms, using decision tree analysis to assign probabilities to each input. AMS farms across Canada and Michigan were evaluated to identify the most substantial farm (i.e., stall design, bedding) and cow-level (i.e., BCS, leg injuries) factors associated with prevalence of lameness. To assess lameness, videos of cows were used, and cows with a head bob or noticeable limp were categorized as lame. A decision tree classification model used 1378 data points from 39 pens across 36 farms to predict the value of the target class through “tree function” in MATLAB. The primary classifier was identified as type of stall base, dividing the data set into 3 categories: 1) rubber, sand, or geotextile mat flooring, 2) concrete base, and 3) other types of stall base. Within the first category (class membership (CM) = 976), bedding quantity was the secondary classifier, which was divided by cows standing on ≥2 cm (CM=456) or <2 cm (CM=520) of bedding. Bedding quantity was divided into the third most important classifier of BCS, and cow fit stall width. Cows with BCS of 3.25 to 4.5 (CM=307) were defined as non-lame with an estimated probability (EP) of 0.59, while cows with BCS of 2 to 2.5 (CM=213) were further split by hock lesion incidence. Cows without lesions were defined non-lame (EP=0.93) and cows with lesions were defined lame (EP=0.07). Cows that fit stall width were defined as non-lame (EP=0.66) and cows that did not fit were further divided by the width of the feed alley. Farms with ≥430 cm feed alley were defined as non-lame (EP=0.89), whereas farms with <430 cm feed alley were defined as lame (EP=0.11). Through implementing a novel multifactorial approach of data analysis, we were able to highlight the critical points that can be focused on to enhance farm-level housing and management practices or mitigate or monitor cow-level issues to reduce incidence and severity of lameness in AMS farms.

GEOTEXTILE IN THE MODERN INTERIOR: FEATURES OF USE IN THE DESIGN OF A PHYTOMODULE FOR GREEN WALL

The paper presents the results of research related to the features of using a geotextile material – geotextile profile membrane Izolit Green in the design of a phytomodule for vertical greening of a modern interior. The phytomodule is a modern trend, a unique design; clean indoor air and easy maintenance; it’s coziness and comfort. Vertical landscaping with the help of a phytomodule will advantageously distinguish the room, create the appropriate mood and give it a special charm. Phytomodules for landscaping are a modern solution for decorating a living space. A picture, a wall or a movable structure – everyone can find their own option based on the stylistic preferences and features of the design of the apartment or house. Vertical gardening is a great alternative to nature, requires a minimum of space, and the wall will look different. Phytowall can be easily placed near the desk in the office or apartment. Vertical gardening is a piece of nature that we need, which gives us strength and inspiration. Vertical landscaping is, without exaggeration, one of the most popular and universal trends in interior design. A green wall will help save space for placing plants, create the effect of a natural environment, clean the air and increase humidity in the room. The phytosystem consists of a phytomodule in which live indoor plants are planted. The modular design allows you to assemble green walls of any size. Correctly selected geotextile material can increase the reliability of the phytomodule, increase the time between repair and maintenance work, and extend the life of the phytomodule. Geotextile materials used in the construction of the phytomodule must ensure high-quality drainage properties and rigidity of the structure itself. The varieties of phytomodules, their advantages and disadvantages, features of filling are considered. The structure of the phytomodule was studied, an important component of which is geotextile, which ensures the qualitative characteristics of the phytomodule, in particular, the effective removal of excess moisture and the strength of the structure. The technical characteristics of the geotextile profiled membrane Izolit Green, which can be used in the design of the phytomodule, are considered. The assortment of ideas for garden walls based on the phytomodule is considered.

Structural behaviors of steel fiber-reinforced concrete-filled geotextile tube stub columns under axial compression

Geotextile materials are recently widely used for concrete casting formwork system; however, concrete is brittle whose inherent abrupt failure property needs to be improved. In this study, a novel composite stub column that consists of external geotextile tube and internal steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) core is proposed. A total of 36 circular concrete stub columns are tested to analyze the effects of fiber volume fraction and cross-sectional diameter on structural behaviors of geotextile-tubed SFRC under axial compression. Based on the test results, geotextile-tubed SFRC stub columns showed superior properties in terms of strength characteristic, strain capacity, modulus of elasticity, ductility and toughness, while the effect of cross-sectional diameter on structural behaviors of the stub columns became less obvious with increasing fiber volume fraction. Furthermore, the experimental data of SFRC stub columns was collected to evaluate the effect of formwork systems. It is evident that the geotextile tube can effectively solve problems of poor mixing and consolidation of SFRC with a high fiber volume fraction to ensure the concrete properties. Finally, a non-linear calculation model was also developed to evaluate the compressive behaviors for geotextile-tubed SFRC. Therefore, use of geotextile is recommended to applied as formwork system of SFRC members, which can provide researchers with more insights into the construction technique of concrete structures.

New Technologies in Mining Sustainable Production. Tailings Management and Mining Chemicals

Million tonnes of tailings are formed in the world each year due to increasing mining activities along with the increase in need for raw materials. The tailings may cause important environmental problems. Therefore, tailings management is very important issue in mining operations. In recent years, with the developing technology, the new tailing disposal technologies such as paste and using geotextile materials have increased considerably. These methods have many advantages in terms of both environmental and cost reducing. Another important issue in terms of mining is the accidents and occupational health problems in underground coal mines. The problems can be described as spontaneous combustion, roof collapse, gases extraction from coal bed, and etc. These accidents have been significantly reduced with use of mining chemicals in underground mines. In this study, tailing management and mining chemicals which are very important in terms of mining applications are examined.

Investigation of mechanical properties of pineapple-viscose blended fabric reinforced composite

Composites with regenerated fiber bonded with natural fibers have attracted growing attention as the globe becomes more sustainable, ecofriendly, and environment-friendly. Pineapple leaf fiber is used for composite in this study since it is also handled as waste nowadays. Furthermore, viscose was chosen as a study variant since no one had ever tried a pineapple and viscose mixed composite before. Due to a scarcity of natural fiber production on Earth, regenerated cellulosic fiber reinforced with natural fiber is widely employed, providing a nearly identical experience by employing partial or less natural fiber. This paper describes a study that used pineapple leaf fiber mixed with a viscose composite and reinforced with epoxy resin. Pineapple viscose blended composite is composed of 1/1 plain wave design, and epoxy resin is applied on them to make stability by the compression molding process. The tested Tensile Strength (σ), Young’s Modulus, and Eb% are 20.7 Mpa, 579 Mpa, and 9.4%, respectively. Some testing is also carried out to differentiate the properties like bending strength 23.5 Mpa, bending modulus 717.6 Mpa, and avg. The pH of the composite is 9.54. This article has different analytical parts to acknowledge the actual condition of composite behaviors. Finally, some suggestions are made as to where it may be utilized and where appropriate to use it, such as on building sites, in Geotextile materials, Coffee cups, coffee cans, and agro-textile materials.

Uni and bi-directional dewatering behaviour of open geotextile containers used for filtration of waste slurries

The simultaneous analysis of filtration mechanisms under vertical, horizontal, and bi-directional flow conditions has not yet been clarified for geotextile-dewatering involving different grain-sized slurries, therefore it is still not obvious which condition is dominant as particle sizes vary. In this paper, the differences associated to horizontal versus vertical filtration are investigated based on solids retention and effluent volume through the geotextiles. Three geotextile materials (two woven and a nonwoven) are separately employed for the filtration of three slurries with d50 ranging from 55 μm to 410 μm using an open dewatering unit. To facilitate the formation of a permeable filter cake on the inside of the geotextile surface, a range of particles with grain size distribution indicating internal stability was chosen for the slurries. The geotextile/slurry combinations targeted possible unfavorable retention conditions wherein only the particles of approximately the same size as the largest opening size of the filter could be retained (O90/d85≥ 1.0). A probabilistic model based on the geotextile pore size distribution curve and number of constrictions is added to the laboratory investigation to assess the geotextile retention reliability and confirms that for most cases slurry particles of all sizes can pass through the filters. Nonetheless, filtration efficiencies greater than 90% and control of particle loss are reached relatively fast for almost all experiments. In other words, it is a range of particles retained at the beginning of filtration tests that stimulates filter cake formation and governs further retention.

Constrained vertex optimization and simulation of the unconfined compressive strength of geotextile reinforced soil for flexible pavement foundation construction

Extreme vertex design (EVD) provides an efficient approach to mixture experiment design whereby the factor level possesses multiple dependencies expressed through component constraints formulation. Consequently, the derived experimental points are within the center edges and vertices of the feasible constrained region. EVD was deployed for the modeling of the mechanical properties of the problematic clayey soil-geogrid blends. Geogrids are geosynthetic materials which possess an open mesh-like structure and are mostly used for soil stabilization. The geotextile materials present a geosynthetic and permeable layer to support the soil and foundation by improvement of its stiffness characteristics and at a cheaper cost to procure compared to other construction materials and possess unique light weight properties with greater strength improvement on the soil layer when used. Minitab 18 and Design Expert statistical software were utilized for the mixture design experiment computation; to fully explore the constrained region of the simplex, I-optimal designs with a special cubic design model were utilized to formulate the mixture component ratios at ten experimental runs. I-optimality and D-optimality of 0.39093 and 1747.474, respectively, were obtained with G-efficiency of 64.8%. The generated laboratory responses were taken together with the mixture ingredients' ratio and taken as the system database for the model development. Statistical influence and diagnostics tests carried out on the generated EVD model indicate a good correlation with the experimental results. Graphical and numerical optimizations were incorporated using a desirability functions that ranged from 0 to 1, which helped to arrive at the optimal combination of the mixture components. 0.2% of geogrid, 9.8% of water, and 90% of soil yielded the optimal solution with a response of 41.270 kN/m2 and a desirability score of 1.0. Model simulation was further carried out to test the model's applicability with the results compared with the actual results using student's t-test and analysis of variance. The statistical results showed p-value>.05 which indicates good correlation.

Essential Issues Related to Construction Phases of Road Networks in Protected Areas

Protected areas play an active role in protecting natural resources and wildlife habitat. These areas must be accessible within protection-use balance. For this reason, road networks in protected areas are one of the main functions of sustainable infrastructure services. The construction phases of road networks in these sensitive areas should be considered in planning within the balance of protection-use with interdisciplinary studies. Especially during the construction of the road network, it is necessary to pay attention to the construction machinery used, geotextile materials, hydraulic and ecological road structures, plantation of the slopes, fences that increase the visual quality and work schedule. Based on a related literature survey, the issues to be considered during the construction phases of road networks (i.e. road planning, tree felling and removing, excavation and embankment, subgrade finishing, road structures and surfacing) in protected areas were evaluated under nine headings. The implementation phases of these issues are important in reducing the adverse effects that will occur in protected areas. In this regard, during the construction phases of road networks, the issues to be considered were evaluated together with the conceptual indicators in terms of management, technique, economy, ecology, and aesthetics. Matters needing attention according to the sensitivity of conceptual indicators during the construction phases of road networks in and around protected areas that contain sensitive ecosystems have been identified and presented in a framework to further the discussions on this issue. Accordingly, the use of the issues to be considered in the planning and construction of road networks with conceptual indicators will help evaluate the planning phase before and after construction. In particular, it can be expected to lead to the creation of a checklist after the planning phase. Thus, the continuity of the issues to be considered during the maintenance, repair, and construction phases of the new road networks or existing road networks planned to be built in a protected area and surrounding areas will provide significant contributions to the functions of the protected areas. The main contributions may include increasing the number of visitors to the protected areas, reducing impacts on wildlife in protected areas by implementing innovative technologies, and developing alternative modes in tourism industry.

Two facets of geotextiles in coastal ecosystems: Anti- or profouling effects?

Nonwoven geotextile fabrics have physical, mechanical and hydraulic properties useful in coastal protection as an alternative to natural stone, slag, and concrete. In a 10-month experiment, the colonisation of macrofouling organisms on different substrata based on polypropylene (PP), polyester (PET) or high density polyethylene (HDPE) fibres was investigated in the Lagoon of Venice, Italy – an environment with temperate transitional waters with high biodiversity – and compared with the colonisation on wood as a reference substratum, because of its occurrence in artificial structures at the study location, until a stable stage was reached in the development of the macrofouling community. Geotextile fabrics showed implications for community development. They affected both ecological succession in different ways by disturbing biofouling settlement and growth (HDPE fabrics) or favouring species which become dominant (PP fabrics). For these two-faceted aspects that potentially cause different long-term impacts on the biodiversity of resident communities, the use of geotextile fabrics as antifouling or as profouling systems for restoration of degraded ecosystems is discussed. In all cases, the communities displayed unique properties, such as differences in the settlement of pioneer species, an initial disturbance to serpulid settlement, absence of barnacles, selection of dominant taxa (ascidians), and changes in the percentages of various taxa forming the community structure. Given the increasing interest in geotextile materials for employment in various marine developments and industries, these results could represent first lines of evidence to inform decision-making to minimise/modify biofouling, and/or predict the use of artificial substrata as habitats by marine organisms.

Interaction studies between geotextile and fill material

As the growth in geotechnical science, there are a lot of new innovations that are used for solving geotechnical problems. One of those innovations is geotextile.This geotextile is often used in earth fill as reinforcement with function to increase the shear strength of existing fill and related with the interaction between geotextile and fill material. Based on this fact, this research is conducted to know the interaction of soil type to geotextile. The result of the research shows that all of the tested soil shear strength parameter comparison are below 1 (0.23; 0.29; 0.24 for C of clay comparison), (0.65; 0.77; 0.98 for ϕ of clay comparison), (0.53; 0.66; 0.67 for ϕ of sand comparison), and (0.53; 0.66; 0.67 for ϕ of coarse aggregate comparison). So it could be concluded that the shear strength of fill material and geotextile material is lower than the shear strength of fill material without geotextile.

STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF GEOTEXTILE MATERIALS DURING CONSTRUCTION OF DAMS

One of the real and promising ways to expand the range and types of structures for strengthening the slopes of embankments and dams is the use of geotextile materials. In the structures under consideration, they can perform protective, filtering, separating, reinforcing functions and moreover they improve the working conditions of the soil and layers of road pavements on the sides of the road and in the slope parts, increasing their stability. The use of geotextiles makes it possible to develop technically and economically effective design solutions. As the analysis of literature data has shown, soil reinforcement is an effective method for increasing the bearing capacity of foundations at a relatively low cost. Therefore, research, both theoretical and experimental, the development and creation of computational models taking into account the influence of reinforcing elements is an urgent problem. The paper considers the stress-strain state of a bulk dam without and with two options for the location of geotextiles. On the basis of the carried out numerical modeling, it is shown how when using geotextiles, the bearing capacity of a structure increases, while the volume of materials decreases. At the second stage, on the basis of the calculations, the optimal variant of the location of the geotextile material in the body of the structure was selected with the best technical and economic indicators. The research results show that when reinforcing the embankment with open clips in two rows – in the upper and lower parts-the smallest horizontal and vertical movements are obtained at almost the same total stresses. At the same time, the required value of the resistance coefficient is achieved, and the volume of soil is reduced. Thus, it can be concluded that the use of geotextile materials can reduce the cost of basic building materials while increasing operational characteristics and extending the service life of the structure.

Dewatering of Golden Horn sludge with geotextile tube and determination of optimum operating conditions: A novel approach

Environmental concerns about Golden Horn's polluted sediments have led to 320,000 m3 of sea dredging, generated annually by bucket dredgers to be stored in landfills without dewatering. This study presents an efficient dewatering methodology and a beneficial alternative to store the sludge. In this scenario, the sludge of a suction-cutter dredger is transported to a pond. The beneficial use of geotextile tubes filled with the sludge at circumferential embankments of pond is evaluated. An anionic polyacrylamide (APAM) is used for conditioning the high plastic silt sludge with 10% solid content. APAM dosage is optimized by Rapid Dewatering Test (RDT) for geotextile material. Microscale SEM-EDS analyzes depicted the flocculated form of the sludge. Laboratory-scale Geotextile Dewatering Test (GDT) shows improvements in the turbidity of filtrate, the quantity of solid particles retained in the tube, and the filtration efficiency, determined to be 92 NTU, 18.5% and 90.5% respectively. In accordance with the ICP-OES analysis, the discharge of the filtrate to the aquatic media is admissible. Undrained shear strength of the dewatered sludge is assessed as low, by Vane and undrained unconsolidated triaxial compression tests. Further improvements of the dewatered sludge with vacuum preloading method were projected by completion of the consolidation tests.

О расчете размывающих скоростей при проектировании фильтрующих сооружений в связных грунтах

Objective: To develop a method for calculating erosion rates in the place of contact of filtering structures with cohesive soils. Methods: Previously at the VNIIG n. a. B. E. Vedeneev, hydrodynamic and strength criteria of contact suffusion were established concerning hydraulic structures. However, there were no calculated dependencies for determining the critical Reynolds number and, accordingly, the critical velocity for coarse-grained materials. Through special processing of experimental data on filtration in non-cavity drain fillers of various grades, it was possible to integrate numerous curves into a single one, making it possible to isolate the transient regime boundaries and obtain a formula for the critical Reynolds number. This made it possible to calculate the critical rate. As a result, a formula was obtained for calculating the erosion rate. Results: The calculated dependencies made it possible to determine the critical rate for the filler material and the erosion rate at the contact boundary between the filtering structure and the soil, based on the initial data of the coarse-grained material from which the filtering structures are made, and the characteristics of the soils in which they are built. Practical importance: The proposed calculation method made it possible to: 1) establish whether the manifestations of erosion by the filtration flow are possible in the place of contact of the filtering structure with the soil; 2) develop measures to eliminate erosion. Geotextile material can be laid along the border of the contact of the filtering structure with the soil, or a finer material can be used as a filler in the filtering structure, the actual filtration flow rates in which will be less than the erosional rates. In this case, the erosion rates in the place of contact with the finer material will increase.

Experimental study on the hydraulic performance of nonwoven geotextile as subsurface drain filter in a silty loam area

Synthetic geotextile envelope can be used as a replacement of sand filters for subsurface drainage pipes. However, clogging and blocking can occur if the filter does not match the soils properly. This paper presents a laboratory study on hydraulic performance of nonwoven geotextile as subsurface drain filter for silty loam soil in eastern China. Two selected synthetic geotextiles were tested. Results showed that Typar SF27 satisfied the filtration requirements compared to the traditional sand filters. Typar SF20 exhibited a clogging risk of about 50% more than SF27; it also exposed to soil loss about 10 times more than SF27. The results indicate that choosing geotextile envelope material for the targeted soils need to consider O90 of the geotextile material and soil size distribution. Findings from this study may provide technical reference for selecting proper geotextile filtering material for subsurface drainage pipes in the study area and regions with similar soil conditions.

Design of Motion Control Software System of Geotextile Paving Trolley for Tunnel Construction

In tunnel waterproofing construction, the method of laying geotextile and waterproof board is generally used. Because the geotextile material is relatively soft, and it is not easy to shape, which brings great inconvenience to the work of construction personnel. Through the analysis of the tunnel waterproofing construction process, based on the tunnel construction geotextile paving trolley, the software system of the trolley motion control system is designed. This system includes the controller program design and the man-machine interface design, and finally cooperates with the hardware system. Debugging verified the system function and the reliability of the equipment.

New Types of Geo-Composite Materials for Anti-Filtration Systems

The article discusses the results of studies of new types of geocomposite materials used for anti-filtration and drainage purposes in hydraulic engineering and environmental protection construction. As the main elements, the presented geocomposite materials include various types of synthetic materials – bentonite mats and profiled geomembrane. A distinctive feature of these materials is the inclusion of additional elements of geotextile material or polymer geomembrane in their design, these elements are connected to the main element by thermal bonding. As a result, the combined geocomposite materials acquire new properties: they become more waterproof and durable. At the same time, waterproof materials are used for anti-filtration systems (as screens and coverings for canals, ponds, dams and various types of waste collectors), and previous material are used for drainage systems (as drainage in hydraulic and civil engineering). New types of geocomposite materials have improved properties on water resistance and water permeability (filtration coefficient), durability and strength.

Shear behaviour of RC beams strengthened using geosynthetic materials by external and internal confinement

The objective of the present article is to study the behaviour of shear deficient reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened with geosynthetic materials by the experimental and analytical investigation. Two types of geosynthetic materials viz. geogrid and geotextile were applied to strengthen the RC beam by external and internal confinement. In this experimental investigation, all the RC beam specimens tested under the three-point-bending load. The shear failure is noticed in the shear critical RC beams, which has turned into a flexural-failure after strengthening with geogrid and geotextile materials by external and internal confinement. A remarkable enhancement in load-carrying capacity, energy-dissipation capacity, ductility-factor, and post-yielding behaviour is observed in all the strengthened RC beams compared to the un-strengthened conventional specimens. Further, the performance of geogrid confined specimens on these parameters is better when compared to the geotextile confined RC beams, and it is maximum in the outer confined specimens. The economy index of all the geogrid and geotextile strengthened RC beam specimens is also increased in comparison with the conventional un-strengthened specimens. Hence, it is confirmed that geogrid and geotextile materials can be a very useful strengthening solution in the RC beam by external or internal confinement with very low cost. However, for new construction, these materials can be used as shear reinforcement instead of traditional reinforcing materials, which will be very cost-effective. Further, an analytical study is carried out to illustrate the ultimate load of all the RC beam specimens, where the analytical predictions are very close to the experimental findings and show very well agreement with the test results.

Stabilization of Expansive Soil by Using Lime and Reinforcement With Geo-Textile

Expansive soils are those soil which have high rate of swelling. Hence the improvement of the soil properties has to be done. In this study, we are using of lime and geo synthetic material for stabilization of soil. Lime is an efficacious product to be mixed with fine grained soils with high plasticity and it improves certain properties of soil due to its chemical action. Stabilization of expansive soil with geo-textile will increase the stiffness and load bearing capacity of the soil through frictional interaction between the soil and geo-textile material. The lime is mixed in different percentages and reinforced with geo-textile by placing at certain depth with in sample height of four layers. In conclusion it shows an improvement of strength is in terms of CBR and peak load.

Response of strip footing resting on earth bed reinforced with geotextile with wraparound ends using finite element analysis

The usage of reinforcement in the soil mass has resolved the issue of scarcity of suitable land for construction. It has enabled the wise utilization of problematic soils with the application of geotextile as reinforcements. Out of many alternatives of the utilization of geotextile material as a reinforcement element for the soil, the provision of geogrids with wraparound ends offers an improved load-bearing capacity of a foundation and also saves the land space needed for the preparation of the conventional reinforced earth bed. This potential method to improve the load–settlement response of the poor soil strata lacks the proper design recommendations. This paper presents a systematic numerical study to evaluate the optimum geometrical parameters for the improvement in the ultimate load-bearing capacity of a given strip footing resting over the reinforced earth bed. The geometrical parameters of the geotextiles that are considered in this study are: the reinforcement width, lap length of the ends of the reinforcement, the vertical spacing between two consecutive reinforcement layers, the optimum number of the reinforcing layers, and the critical position of the first reinforcing layer from the footing. The abovementioned parameters are modeled by using a finite element method-based numerical tool, and the load–settlement response for a footing of width B = 2 m is studied for multiple layers of reinforcements. This study recommends the optimum depth of the first layer of reinforcement from the bottom of the footing and the width of the reinforcing layers are 0.3 and 1.5 times the width of the footing, respectively.

A Practical Experiment for Protecting River Banks From Erosion by Using Geotextile.(Dept.T)

This study was conducted for illustrating the problem of soil erosion on river banks by using geotextile. Three geotextile materials have been used in this work, namely are polyester, cotton and kenaf. The specifications of each fabric have been measured as well as the tensile strenghth of each sample before and after the experimental work. All experiments have been executed using a prototype designed especially for this work. The prototype was used as a simulator for the bank of the River Nile to study the real factors causing the erosion of the soil.The results obtained showed that a good solution for this problem could be achieved successfully through using geotextile for the protection of the soil of the river banks from being eroded. Polyester armour was found to be the best.