Gabion Retaining Walls
Gabion retaining wall is formed with gabion baskets stacking atop
one another, and it plays a positive role in earth retaining,
mud-rock flow prevention, slope stabilization, landslide treatment,
and soil erosion control, etc.
Gabion retaining walls are regarded as a flexible and free drainage
system, which can effectively resist the disturbing forces. During
the building of gabion retaining walls, in order to achieve the
effect of stability and an aesthetic appearance, it is suggested
that the walls should be inclined from the vertical plane by 6 or
10 degrees. The gabion retaining walls’flexibility degree can be
determined by the quality of the filling materials, the type of
fill, wire diameter of the mesh, and the mesh type. For example,
the more angular the filling materials are the greater care in
filling and the heavier the wire diameter of the mesh. Therefore,
the requirements on the quality of installation will be higher,
thus leading to a more dimensionally stable structure.
The stone fill material used for filling the gabion retaining wall
shall be clean, hard stone with pieces ranging from 10-20cm on the
greatest dimensions. All effort shall be made to ensure that the
stone fill material utilized in the design of the structure match
the stone fill used in constructing the gabion structure. The
characteristics of flexibility, strength and high drainage capacity
of the gabion support works are the best guarantee of long-term
stability even in the presence of unplanned stresses, since this
type of structure is able to absorb major deformations without
collapsing.
Advantages of Gabion Retaining Wall:
* Flexibility
* Strength
* Permeability
* Durability
* Economy
* Ecology
Applications:
Gabion retaining wall is often used to construct an access track
along the length of an existing train station. The access track
will be used by a pilling rig that will be required to place new
foundation when the existing station is demolished and the new
railway station constructed. The gabion wall is constructed both
sides of railway line and has to be constructed and backfilled in
4m lengths. This limits the chance of slipage to the embankment.
