PROJECT OVERVIEW
High-Flow Channel Protection
Customer:
Peabody Coal
Location:
Somerville, Indiana
Product:

APPLICATION:
Evaluation of ShearForce™ 10 for replacing rock riprap in high flow areas
SITE DESCRIPTION:
- Standard annual/perennial grass and legume mix
- Silty Clay Loam soil
- Approximate 4 ft wide channel bottom
- Stream channel gradient bottom gradient approx. 4%
- Sideslope gradients 5:1 and less
- Drainage over 25 acre, over-burdened cap
- Over 8 inches of rainfall from Sept 10 through Nov 29



Grab the slider to see "before vs after" with ShearForceTM 10

Objective
Test application for the InstaTurf ShearForce™ 10 ECTRM at protecting the highly erodible channel soils and evaluate effectiveness as a rock rip rap replacement.
A key learning from this project is the importance of installing your erosion control even beyond where you think the water flow width will be. ShearForce10 protected the ground, but as you can see, erosion occured immediately next to it.
Tim Lancaster - InstaTurf®


Overview
We installed the InstaTurf ShearForce™ 10 at a coal mine in Indiana in September 2019 to demonstrate the erosion armoring capabilities of the product compared to rock riprap. It was installed over cool season grass mix.
Tim Lancaster revisited the site on multiple occasions to see how the ShearForce™ 10 product, unprotected control sections, and rock check dams held up through the winter months.
Results
By spring 2020, severe erosion and scour had occurred in adjacent and downstream areas not protected with ShearForce™ 10.
The ShearForce 10 test section remained solid after a long, very wet winter, whereas the unprotected control sections and riprap structures had failed.
By late May 2020, the ShearForce 10 had become fully vegetated, and now acts to permanently reinforce the grasses against future storm flow events.

For more information, contact Tim Lancaster
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