The bottom line is the bottom line: comparing the end results of various TRM tests

摘要

There has been plenty of discussion within the Erosion Control community regarding testing protocol and testing parameters for the various Turf Reinforcement Mats (TRM). From the beginning, TRM manufacturers developed products and tests (both index and performance tests) on an as needed basis. Manufacturers worked mostly within their own organizations or with universities to develop these tests. Many times the tests were developed exclusive to one particular product or one particular test apparatus or facility resulting in test protocol and test data with a very wide scatter. The absence of any standard protocol or clearly defined failure criteria can result in varying data even for similar test procedures. As the TRM industry has matured efforts are being made to develop "standard" test protocol which hopefully will clear the air on much of the confusion associated with TRM performance claims. While this is a much-needed effort, it will most likely still take several years to put in place any such standards. In the meantime the authors suggest that fair comparisons can still be made between products (particularly TRMs) and test results even if test protocols vary. The authors compare various test protocols of leading testing facilities, various manufacturers published data and attempt to clarify the common denominator that allows the designer/specifier to make a fair comparison of the various data.