Investigation of Tensile Properties of Paddy Straw Geomesh for Slope Erosion Control

The present paper deals with the characterization of the tensile strength of a manually prepared Geomesh of 100% Paddy Straw, a Lignocellulosic and agricultural waste byproduct, using plaits prepared by using three or four stalks of Paddy Straw rolled between the palms, and plaits are subsequently weaved manually to form mesh having different thicknesses and apertures proposed for use as slope erosion control material on newly constructed embankment of Canal/Dam till it achieves its full shear strength. The five samples of each 6, 8 and 10 mm thick Geomeshes with different apertures like 12x12, 20x20 and 25x25 mm in dry and wet conditions are taken and tensile strength of each type is calculated using wide width method of finding tensile strength of a Geotextile on textile testing machine as per ASTM D 4595. It has been concluded that the tensile strength of handmade Paddy Straw Geomeshes is influenced by thickness of the strands and aperture size. It is also observed that the behaviour of Paddy Straw is nearly similar to that of elastic material. In either case the maximum tensile strength of paddy Straw Geomesh of 8.03 kN/m in wet condition satisfies the criteria of ASTM (0.1kN/m) required for suitability of natural material for Erosion control.