PFI-RP: Novel coated geotextile to enhance water drainage from soil

这个创新研究伙伴关系（PFI-RP）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力包括建立一个新的技术平台和相关的基础科学，允许合理设计土工布（工厂制造的织物产品），可以以高运输效率从土壤中排水。土工布已广泛应用于公路、铁路、机场等基础设施中，起到排水、分离、过滤、加固等作用，改善土壤性质。最近，一种具有深沟槽纤维的吸芯土工布被证明能够通过暴露在空气中的边缘蒸发来去除土壤中的水分。但它的除水能力受到高湿度或土壤中细小颗粒的限制。为了克服这些限制，该项目将在吸汗土工布上应用多孔吸收涂层，这种涂层可以产生更高的吸水性，并将水吸引、运输和排放到边缘。该项目将解决与水有关的基础设施问题，这些问题可能对公众构成风险，需要大量资金进行维修和维护。拟议的项目将推进对具有定制润湿性的吸附剂的吸水和运输行为的了解。将吸收剂应用于吸芯土工布将提高其从细颗粒土壤中去除水分的有效性。需要解决的技术障碍包括：多孔吸收剂的有效性和耐久性，涂层在土工布上的应用，吸收剂和土壤之间的界面行为，在土工布安装在土壤中的吸收涂层的生存能力，以及埋在土壤中的土工布的横向水输送和排放。具体的研究目标是：(1)制造一种吸收涂层土工布；(2)评价土工布在土体中的排水性能；(3)通过数值模拟，深入了解土工布在土体中有效性的控制因素；(4)发展考虑土工布在道路中的效益的设计方法。从拟议的工作中获得的结果和见解将成为土工合成应用的基石，土工合成应用将通过结合具有定制固液界面润湿性的吸收剂来增强土壤中的水去除。研究结果也将允许合理设计土工布表面，即使在非饱和土壤中也能吸收和输送水。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation-Research Partnerships (PFI-RP) project includes establishing a new technological platform and associated fundamental science allowing for the rational design of geotextiles (factory-made fabric products) that can drain water from soil with high transport efficiency. Geotextiles have been widely utilized in infrastructures including roads, railways, and airports to improve soil properties by serving functions of drainage, separation, filtration, and reinforcement. Recently, a wicking geotextile that possesses deep grooved fibers was demonstrated to be able to remove water from soils through evaporation at the edges exposed to air. However, its water removal capability becomes limited either by high humidity or by fine particles in the soil. To overcome these limitations, this project will apply a porous absorbent coating on a wicking geotextile that can generate higher suction of water, and attract, transport, and discharge water laterally to the edges. This project will provide a solution to difficult water-related infrastructure problems that may pose risks to the public and require significant funding for repair and maintenance. The proposed project will advance the knowledge of water absorption and transport behavior on an absorbent with tailored wettability. Application of an absorbent to a wicking geotextile will enhance its effectiveness in removing water from soils with fine particles. The technical hurdles to be addressed include: effectiveness and durability of the porous absorbent, application of the coating on geotextiles, interfacial behavior between absorbent and soil, survivability of the absorbent coating during geotextile installation in soil, and lateral water transport and discharge in/from the geotextile buried in soils. The specific research objectives are to: (1) manufacture an absorbent-coated geotextile; (2) evaluate the water drainage performance of the geotextile in soils; (3) gain insights into the controlling factors for the effectiveness of the geotextile in soils through numerical modeling; and (4) develop design methods to account for the benefits of the geotextile in roads. The results and insights obtained from the proposed work will serve as a cornerstone for geosynthetic applications that will enhance the water removal from soils by incorporating an absorbent with tailored solid-liquid interfacial wettability. The research outcomes will also allow for rational design of geotextile surfaces enabling absorbing and transporting water even in unsaturated soils.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.