The influence of woven geotextiles on ponding time and overland flow

Nowadays, both synthetic and natural geotextiles are used to mitigate water erosion processes on hillslopes. Jute and coir are most suitable materials for the production of woven geotextiles. They are used for a variety of purposes - from natural fibre composite building materials to a soil protective agent. They were tested under laboratory conditions, without soil. This enabled us to focus on the reaction of the woven geotextiles to simulated rainfall. ECC 700 (coir), ECC 400 (coir), and ECJ 500 (jute) were tested. The Norton Ladder Rainfall Simulator was selected for spraying. Each simulated rainfall event lasted 15 min. An artificial hillslope with a gradient of 7.2 degrees was used. Jute absorbed water more effectively than both types of coir, and ECC 400 was more effective than ECC 700. The measured values were entered into the KINFIL hydrological model, which confirmed a positive impact of jute on delaying the ponding time and on reducing the total discharge. In practice, it can be suggested that jute prevents drying of the soil better than coir, and thus promotes better vegetation growth. The results also demonstrated that jute material is suitable for erosion control of hillslope surface for a short time (the time of the grass cover reinforcement), because it has good adhesion and reduces the total overland flow in an effective manner.