The invention relates to a low-permeability geotechnical barrier material including a blend of approximately equal parts of: aggregate particles, sand-size particles and manufactured composite particles that include a hydratable sealant material composed of naturally-occurring clay minerals and/or polymer-enhanced clay minerals, such that the actual percentage of clay mineral component is less than 10% by weight in the blended material. In a particular embodiment, the construction of a low-permeability geotechnical barrier using predominantly coarse grain materials by conventional compaction efforts is rarely attempted due to the difficulty of maintaining a uniform mix of well-graded sand and aggregate blends necessary to achieve low permeability. The regularly achievable permeability offered by this material blend when installed with specific proscribed techniques using conventional equipment can be 510.sup.8 cm/sec or lower.

Method of building a grid system wherein a plurality of modular apparatuses can be arranged at a structure site. The plurality modular apparatuses can have a central tubular member having an inner bore formed between a proximal end and a distal end, and a plurality of vanes having a lateral width at least equal to a diameter of the central tubular member. The one or more modular apparatuses can be positioned above a surface of the structure site. Each of the plurality modular apparatuses can be connected with at least two adjacent modular apparatuses of the plurality of modular apparatuses via a locking lug on one of the plurality of vanes slidingly engaged with a locking channel on an adjacent modular apparatus. The plurality of modular apparatuses can then be driven into the structure site wherein the inner bore receives earthen formation therein.

Method of design and manufacturing concrete structures subjected to relevant cyclic loads along their service lives, as wind towers, and a fatigue testing machine. The method consists on the design of concrete structures conditioned by cyclic loads considering a fatigue strength value specified by the project as one of the main design parameters, which will be verified during the manufacturing phase as one of the control parameters of the quality assurance plan by performing fatigue strength test on concrete samples representative of the concrete structural elements produced on said manufacturing phase. The method allows to decouple the concrete fatigue strength from the compressive strength of the material, which is why includes a verification of the fatigue strength as a part of a quality assurance plan of production according to a new developed procedure.

One or more specific embodiments disclosed herein includes a method for creating a sediment control device, comprising clearing native soil on a tract of land of vegetation, tilling the native soil, filtering the native soil, importing additional soil and fibrous materials, mixing the additional soil and fibrous materials with the native soil, blending an adhesive-type binder into the mixed soil, forming the mixed soil with the adhesive-type binder into a berm, and covering the berm with a textile.

An expanded multilayer integral geogrid includes a plurality of oriented strands interconnected by partially oriented junctions having an array of openings therein that is produced from a coextruded or laminated multilayer polymer starting sheet. The integral geogrid has a multilayer construction, with at least one inner layer thereof having a structure that is expanded relative to at least one other layer of the multiple layers. By virtue of the expanded inner layer structure, the expanded multilayer integral geogrid provides for increased layer compressibility under load, resulting in enhanced material properties that provide performance benefits to use of the expanded multilayer integral geogrid in soil geosynthetic reinforcement, and economic benefits compared to a like integral geogrid without an expanded inner layer structure.

A geoturf tube for stabilization of erodible ground surfaces said geoturf tube formed of a geotextile fabric in a tubular shape and configured to contain sands but allow water to pass through and a tufted tensile elements cover attached to at least a portion of the geotextile fabric. Alternatively, a geoturf cover of a geotextile and a plurality of tufted tensile elements installed as a separate layer above a geotube to serve as a protective barrier and extend the service life of the geotube. A method of stabilization of erodible surfaces with a geoturf tube or a geoturf cover is disclosed.

A fiber block system suitable for controlling erosion and stabilizing soil is described that comprises a fiber block formed of a densely packed natural fibers and having an apron extending therefrom, wherein the apron is formed of the same natural fibers. The fiber block and apron are enclosed in a sleeve of fiber mesh and ties are disposed in the fiber block and connect to the sleeve. The fiber block, mesh, and ties can be made of coir fibers.

The present invention relates to a water barrier, in particular a dike, comprising an inner slope, a crown and an outer slope, wherein the outer slope is located on the waterside. The water barrier is characterized in that the natural vegetation of at least one of the elements of inner slope, crown and outer slope is provided with fibers inserted into said vegetation.

An integrated anchoring structure of basalt fiber reinforced plastic (BFRP) bars for a reservoir bank slope includes: a plurality of BFRP anchoring bars, where each of the BFRP anchoring bars includes a plurality of BFRP bars bonded to one another, a lower steel casing pipe, an upper steel casing pipe and a steel strand bonded to an upper portion of the upper steel casing pipe and aligned with the BFRP bars, and a grating array temperature sensing optical cable, a grating array stress sensing optical cable and a grating array vibration sensing optical cable are bonded in each of the BFRP bars; a plurality of shear-resistant bricks distributed on structural planes; a pouring base arranged at a bottom of the anchoring borehole; and an anchoring section arranged at an upper portion of the pouring base.

A fiber block system suitable for controlling erosion and stabilizing soil is described that comprises a fiber block formed of a densely packed natural fibers and having an apron extending therefrom, wherein the apron is formed of the same natural fibers. The fiber block and apron are enclosed in a sleeve of fiber mesh and ties are disposed in the fiber block and connect to the sleeve. The fiber block, mesh, and ties can be made of coir fibers.