Enka®-Flex

Introduction

Loop Pile Fabric is a 3-dimensional woven fabric consisting of:

• a tape woven polypropylene fabric which forms the base fabric
• a large number of loops standing perpendicular on the base fabric

The Loop Pile Fabric ('LPF') forms the base layer of a concrete block mattress. During the casting process the LPF's loops penetrate into the base on the fluidized (vibrated) concrete mix and, after adequate curing, provide the required bonding strength between the concrete blocks and the fabric base layer.

Concrete block mattresses are mostly used for marine applications as coastal protection, shore protection and river bank protection. Due to the nature of these applications, long-term durability is an essential requirement.

Specifications

The polypropylene tapes of the woven fabric contain low-leach anti-oxidant to ensure the long- term durability of the fabric in marine applications. It is important that a low-leach stabilizer is used, as normal anti-oxidants would leach out of the fabric in less than two years. As the fabrics can be used in shallow water the UV resistance is ensured by adding UV stabilizers to the fabric next to the light absorbing pigments like Carbon Black.

The loops are made of stabilized PP fibrillated tapes. They are positioned in such way that there are 26 loops /10cm². Due to an enhanced tufting process and the use of stiff yarns the loops continue to stand up, even after unrolling.