Erosion control mats

Climatic changes, such as long periods of heat in the summer months and extreme precipitation, also have direct consequences for road and traffic route construction. Embankments, slopes and noise barriers, i.e. all inclined earthworks, are particularly susceptible to external weather influences during the construction phase and after completion. The problem is that until the fill material used is fully consolidated and the earthworks are covered with vegetation and roots, they are highly vulnerable to erosion by water and wind.

The increasing frequency of heavy rainfall events in particular leads to extensive erosion damage and landslides, which later have to be remediated at great expense. What is needed here are temporary or permanent solutions for erosion protection that can be realised with as little effort as possible.

Three-dimensional geosynthetics have been used with great success for many years to retain soil particles on slopes until the vegetation is fully rooted. For erosion protection, a distinction is made between natural products and solutions made of plastic, steel or composite materials.

Natural fibre products made from jute or coir are particularly suitable for temporary erosion protection during the establishment phase, when rapid rooting can be assumed. The three-dimensional synthetic fibre products, known as crimp mats, are generally tangled fabrics with an open-mesh structure that keeps the topsoil in place and enables rooting through the seed. If, due to the steepness and/or length of the slope, particular demands are expected on the erosion protection, the crimp mats are combined with a tensile geogrid or steel grid for load transfer parallel to the slope. Geosynthetic crumbling mats are used wherever long-term and robust erosion protection is required.

In addition to earthworks, hydraulic engineering is another area of application in which erosion control mats are increasingly being used. They prevent superficial soil erosion in bank zones of bodies of water or on dyke and dam structures until permanent vegetation is established.