Process and system for making an erosion control mat

A process for making an erosion control mat having a plurality of blocks of hardened paste attached to and joined together by a sheet of mesh material, the process comprising:

• rotating a cylindrical drum having a plurality of mold cavities about an outer surface thereof shaped to form the blocks;
• depositing a flowable, hardenable paste into the mold cavities;
• selecting the sheet of mesh material to have sufficient tensile strength to join the blocks of hardened paste together without tearing or separating from the blocks of hardened paste, and to have sufficient density to retain the paste within the mold cavities as the drum rotates;
• covering an outer surface of the cylindrical drum and outer surfaces of the flowable paste in the mold cavities with the sheet of mesh material as the cylindrical drum rotates;
• continuing to rotate the cylindrical drum as the flowable, hardenable paste hardens into dimensionally stable blocks in the mold cavities and holding the sheet of mesh material against the outer surface such that the sheet of mesh material retains the paste within the mold cavities and at least a portion of the sheet of mesh material becomes embedded in the paste;
• separating the dimensionally stable blocks from the mold cavities, thereby forming the erosion control mat consisting of the sheet of mesh material embedded in the blocks sufficiently to connect the blocks to each other;
• wherein the sheet includes loop matting having loops woven into a layer of woven mesh fabric that project upwardly from a surface of the layer of woven mesh fabric;
• and
• wherein covering the outer surface of the cylindrical drum and the outer surfaces of the paste includes bringing the loop matting into contact with the outer surface of the cylindrical drum and the outer surfaces of the paste such that the loops project into the mold cavities and embed in the paste therein.

A process for making an erosion control mat having a plurality of blocks of hardened paste attached to and joined together by a sheet of mesh material, the process comprising:

• rotating a cylindrical drum on a support surface by displacing a frame on which the cylindrical drum is rotatably mounted relative to the support surface;
• depositing a flowable, hardenable paste into a hopper adjacent the cylindrical drum such that the hardenable paste flows through an opening in the hopper into mold cavities formed in an outer surface of the cylindrical drum as the mold cavities move into alignment with the opening;
• paying out a continuous sheet of mesh material from a spindle on a downstream side of the hopper to cover the outer surface of the cylindrical drum and outer surfaces of the paste deposited in the mold cavities such that the sheet retains the paste within the mold cavities, wherein the sheet of mesh material includes filaments that project upwardly from the sheet of mesh material into the mold cavities and embed in the paste in the mold cavities;
• holding the sheet of mesh material against the outer surface of the cylindrical drum by tension of the sheet of mesh material from resistance of the spindle to rotation and a pinch of the sheet between the cylindrical drum and the support surface;
• and
• continuing to displace the frame relative to the support surface at a rate sufficient to rotate the cylinder at a speed that enables the paste to harden into solid blocks in the mold cavities and to embed the filaments in the blocks, thereby forming the erosion control mat of the sheet of flexible, mesh material with the filaments embedded in the blocks sufficiently to join the blocks to the sheet of flexible, mesh material in a continuous mat.

A system for making an erosion control mat, the system comprising:

• a movable frame;
• a cylindrical drum having a plurality of mold cavities about a periphery thereof, the cylindrical drum rotatably mounted on the frame;
• a hopper positioned transversely of the cylindrical drum for receiving and distributing a flowable, hardenable paste into the mold cavities;
• a sheet having flexible, three-dimensional material having filaments that project upwardly therefrom, the three-dimensional material supported on the frame and fed to cover an outer surface of the cylindrical drum and outer surfaces of the paste in the mold cavities such that the flexible sheet contacts the paste and retains the paste within the mold cavities and the filaments project into the mold cavities and embed in the paste in the mold cavities, so that the paste solidifies into dimensionally stable blocks in the mold cavities to form the erosion control mat having blocks of hardened paste attached to the flexible sheet by the filaments.

A process for making an erosion control mat having dimensionally stable blocks of hardened paste interconnected by a sheet having a multiplicity of protrusions projecting upwardly therefrom, the process comprising:

• depositing a hardenable paste in flowable form into a plurality of molds;
• covering the molds with the sheet having the multiplicity of protrusions projecting upwardly therefrom, the sheet oriented so that the multiplicity of protrusions extends into the plurality of molds and embeds in the hardenable paste;
• holding the sheet against the molds until the hardenable paste hardens sufficiently within the molds to form dimensionally stable blocks attached to the sheet by the multiplicity of protrusions embedded in the plurality of the dimensionally stable blocks;
• and
• removing the dimensionally stable blocks from the molds to form the erosion control mat consisting of the dimensionally stable blocks interconnected by the sheet.

A process for making an erosion control mat having dimensionally stable blocks of hardened paste interconnected by a sheet of flexible mesh material in the form of a nonwoven geotextile having a multiplicity of protrusions projecting upwardly therefrom, the process comprising:

• depositing a hardenable paste in flowable form into a plurality of mold cavities;
• covering the mold cavities with the sheet having the multiplicity of protrusions projecting upwardly therefrom, the sheet oriented so that the multiplicity of protrusions extends into the plurality of mold cavities and embeds in the paste in the plurality of mold cavities;
• holding the sheet against the mold cavities until the paste hardens sufficiently within the mold cavities to form dimensionally stable blocks attached to the sheet by the multiplicity of protrusions embedded in the plurality of the dimensionally stable blocks;
• and
• removing the dimensionally stable blocks from the mold cavities to form the erosion control mat consisting of the dimensionally stable blocks interconnected by the sheet.