CONSTRUCTION OF RETAINING WALLS

Reinforced soil, due to the usage of TENAX TT SAMP geogrids, is a technical and structural alternative to steel reinforced concrete or prefabricated cellular walls. From an economical viewpoint a reduction in the overall construction costs of at least 30% can be achieved. This Reinforced Soil technology, because of the use of TENAX TT SAMP geogrids, allows for the construction of embankments and walls with “green faced” slopes, stable at inclinations of 80° or even more when concrete blocks or prefabricated TENAX NURAGHE concrete type elements are used as the facing elements. These prefabricated concrete elements connect to the geogrids, which, thanks to their tensile strength and to their openings and thick bars, simultaneously anchor the face and internally strengthen the soil in a uniform manner with a greater effective action than that of anchoring systems made with discrete metallic strips or bars.
Furthermore, the notable flexibility of a Reinforced Soil structure allows for its use on soils having a weak bearing capacity as well, due to its ability to adjust itself to the settling of the base while undergoing only modest deformations. In this way, it is possible to obtain considerable technical and economic advantages deriving from the lightening of the facade’s structure that no longer resists against soil thrust by gravitational means or by wall toe tilting reactions alone, but instead, through the soil’s increased frictional resistance due to the inclusion of geogrids. When properly designed, such a structure offers a high factor of safety and has an increased capacity to support substantial static and dynamic loads.

Completed stepped wall reinforced soil structure	Stepped wall with pedestrian access ramp	Green faced reinforced soil structure
Geogrid reinforced soil structure for failed slope	Completed green faced reinforced soil structure	Geogrid reinforced structure for bridge abutments

CONSTRUCTION OF ROAD AND RAILWAY EMBANKMENTS

A road or railway embankment is normally a large structure, the construction of which always involves moving vast amounts of soil normally of good quality. It also causes considerable inconvenience for the community, both in terms of land take and for the environmental impact such a structure has. The construction of a viaduct or of a concrete structure represents a decidedly more expensive alternative, even in terms of the structure’s environmental impact. To limit costs, it’s necessary to build road embankments having steeper slopes, or else to build them having the same shape but using cheap or available on-site fill soil with poor mechanical properties.
The utilization of TENAX TT SAMP geogrids allows for the construction of steep slopes (up to 80°- 85° above horizontal), while still guaranteeing full performances within the project designer’s safety factor. During project design, it’s possible to consider all the stresses to which the road embankment will be subjected, such as static and dynamic surcharge loads, or eventually, the ones due to seismic activity, therefore guaranteeing the safety of the structure. Furthermore it is possible to utilize any type of soil available on-site, allowing a considerable savings in terms of construction costs.

Jesi (Italy) Geogrid reinforced slope for railway embankment using TENAX RIVEL formwork system

Solectron (Messico) Geogrid reinforced wall using TENAX NURAGHE modular block system

Bogotà (Colombia) Geogrid reinforced steep slope

Schematic example

TENAX geosynthetics allow to obtain a stable railway and firm airport runways

Fig. 1 A geogrid reinforced road embankment allows to save 50% of the fill soil and 50% of the land take (and even more) compared to a traditional unreinforced one. Fig. 2 A geogrid reinforced steep slope allows to double an existing railway line with minimal or no additional space required. Legend: 1. Saving of right of way 2. Fill soil saving 3. Cutting profile 4. New railway line 5. Original embankment profile 6. HDPE geogrid