Non-woven Mat Water Flow Control Ground Cover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ground covers, such as tufted geosynthetics, are expensive to manufacture and maintain, and fail to effectively infiltrate environmental water into the local groundwater table in arid regions, leading to rapid water flow and wind erosion.
Innovation Solution
A non-woven mat of randomly oriented polymeric fibers with tufted synthetic blades and a stabilization layer that moderates water flow, allowing increased seepage into the soil while resisting rapid lateral flow and wind erosion, made from materials like polyethylene with heat-bonded fibers and tuft bridges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If water-shedding ground covers are used to prevent water infiltration, then water flow control is improved, but groundwater replenishment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a porous geotextile fabric as the ground cover material, which allows water to pass through while still providing flow control. The porous structure enables infiltration of water into the underlying soil and groundwater table, resolving the contradiction between controlling water flow and replenishing groundwater.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite structure combining geotextile fabric with native soil or gravel layers. This composite system provides both water flow control through the fabric and facilitates groundwater replenishment through the permeable soil/gravel layer beneath, simultaneously addressing both requirements.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If tufted geosynthetic ground covers are used for erosion control, then wind erosion control is improved, but manufacturing cost deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive tufted geosynthetic ground covers with a simpler, cheaper alternative consisting of a basic geotextile fabric layer combined with native soil or gravel. This simpler construction achieves comparable erosion control at significantly lower manufacturing and installation costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and removes the complex tufted structure from the ground cover design, retaining only the essential geotextile fabric component that provides erosion control. This simplification eliminates manufacturing complexity and reduces costs while maintaining the primary protective function.
3Speed
If fast moving water flows across the ground, then water flow rate is improved, but ground damage deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a geotextile fabric and soil/gravel layer system as an intermediary between the flowing water and the underlying ground. This intermediate layer dissipates the energy of fast-moving water, reduces direct impact on the ground, and prevents erosion and damage while still allowing water to pass through and replenish groundwater.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively slows water flow, increases infiltration into the groundwater table, and reduces wind erosion, providing a cost-effective and aesthetically pleasing ground cover for arid regions.
Implementation Method 1
A stabilization layer on a bottom side and proximate interior portion of the non-woven mat comprises a plurality of heat-bonded contacting engagements of portions of at least some of the fibers and the tuft bridges
Implementation Method 2
The mat being disposed on a ground surface moderates a rate of flow of environmental water for increased seepage of the environmental water through the ground surface
Data Source
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AI summary
A non-woven mat of randomly oriented thermoplastic or polymeric fibers defining interstitial gaps that form interference pathways for non-direct water flow therethrough, whereby the mat being disposed on a ground surface moderates a rate of flow of environmental water for increased seepage of the environmental water into a subground and resists rapid lateral flow of environmental water across the ground cover, and with a stabilization layer in a bottom surface portion of the mat or optionally secured with staples to the ground. A method of forming a stabilized water flow control ground cover is disclosed.