Research and developments in selecting subsurface drainage materials

Subsurface drainage requires appropriate materials to ensure a proper functioning of the drainage system. The materials normally applied for subsurface drainage are drain pipes and envelopes. Besides a review of the materials used for drain pipes, their hydraulic characteristics — discharge capacity and entrance resistance — have been treated. Much attention is paid to subsurface drainage envelope materials because of practical problems and a serious gap in knowledge, in spite of considerable research efforts. After treating the aim of drainage envelopes, a review of the used materials is given. Practical experience with gravel envelopes, still often used in irrigated areas, shows serious shortcomings. Since organic envelopes are vulnerable to deterioration, the only possible alternative are synthetic envelopes. Their property to retain soil particles is characterized by the so-called filter criteria. Laboratory research and field experiments to evaluate the blocking and clogging aspects of synthetic envelopes are discussed and selection criteria given.