Degradation of geotextiles of typha latifolia linn used in soil bioengineering techniques

Abstract

The use of taboa fibers (Typha latifolia Linn), for geotextile manufacturing, was designed to stabilize riverbanks or slopes and to create an ecologically suitable environment for the recovery of vegetation and soil anchoring. The objective of this work was to evaluate the resistance of geotextiles manufactured from taboa fibers submitted to accelerate aging in the laboratory and degradation of these fibers in the field. The geotextile manufacturing was performed with different knots in fibers that had previously undergone different drying processes. To perform the tests in the laboratory, an apparatus that allowed the geotextile to be subjected to premature aging was built, seeking to simulate the environmental conditions. The fibers were exposed to UVB radiation followed by condensation, using also a mechanical cooler, for temperature equalization. The tensile strength tests followed the guidelines observed in the ISO 10319 (1996) and ISO 12236 (1998) Brazilian National Standards. The field trials were conducted by placing samples on a slope on the right bank of the São Francisco river in the municipality of Amparo do São Francisco, Sergipe state, 10°08'20.7"S 36°54'47.0"W, Northeaster Brazil, with 20m2 area, under local climatic conditions, for further evaluation of their degradation. Since the materials are not homogeneous in their manufacture, non-uniform results occurred when subjected to degradation. This may explain the fact that unexpected increases in stress and strain values were observed. The taboa geotextile showed results of rupture stress and deformation that signals positively for its commercial use, thus confirming its potential for use as part of soil bioengineering techniques.