Introduction to Geocells

A geocell is a three-dimensional mesh structure made of reinforced HDPE sheet material, which is welded with high strength. It is generally welded by ultrasonic pin welding. For engineering purposes, some are perforated in the membrane, and welded geocells are more commonly used.

Characteristics of geocells

1.It has the ability to expand and contract freely, and can be shrunk and stacked for transportation. It can be tensioned into a mesh during construction and filled with loose materials such as soil, gravel and concrete to form a structural body with strong lateral restraint and large rigidity.

2. Light and abrasion resistant, chemically stable, resistant to light and oxygen ageing, acid and alkali, suitable for different soil and desert conditions.

3.Higher lateral restraint and anti-slip, anti-deformation, effective enhancement of the bearing capacity of the roadbed and dispersion of the load.

4.Changing the geometry of geocell height and welding distance can meet different engineering needs.

5.Self-expanding, small transport volume; convenient coupling, fast construction speed.

The basic principle of geocell

The reason why geocells are so effective and of such interest to the engineering community is that they are based on their basic principles. The principle is described in foreign literature as "a honeycomb three-dimensional confinement system that can significantly improve the performance of common fill materials in load-bearing and insect-erosion control applications over a wide range." Its key principle is three-dimensional confinement. As we all know, when a car drives over a desert, it makes two deep ruts, with the pressed part sinking deeply and the sides of the rut rising high. If the vehicle behind continues to follow the ruts, the sunken part sinks further and the raised part rises further until the raised part rubs against the undercarriage and the sunken rut buries most of the wheels, thus making it impossible to move forward. This is because when the external load acts on the surface of the foundation, according to Planter's theory and Taylor's theory: under the action of the concentrated load, the active zone 1 will be pressurised and sink, and the force will be transferred to the transition zone 2 by decomposition on both sides, and the excessive zone 2 will be transferred to the passive zone 3, and the passive zone will deform and bulge without restriction.

Product features.

1.Self-expanding, transportation can be shrunken and stacked, when construction can be tensioned into a net, filled with loose materials such as soil, gravel, concrete, etc., to form a structural body with strong lateral restraint and large rigidity.

2. Light and abrasion resistant, chemically stable, resistant to light and oxygen ageing, acid and alkali, suitable for different soil and desert conditions.

3.Higher lateral restraint and anti-slip, anti-deformation, effective enhancement of the bearing capacity of the roadbed and dispersion of the load.

4.Changing the geometry of geocell height and welding distance can meet different engineering needs.

5.Self-expanding, small transport volume, convenient coupling, fast construction speed.

That is to say, once the load acts on the roadbed, the active area will be formed underneath the load in the shape of a deed, which in turn will be squeezed through the transition area, thus causing the passive area to bulge. In other words, the load-bearing capacity of the foundation is determined by the shear forces along the slip line and the forces moving the active, transitional and passive areas. The real process of the above principle can be experienced very clearly not only on sand bases, but you will also find a sample of this on soft base roads, except that the rate of its formation is slower than the change on sand. Even the best road base materials are not immune to lateral movement. The average motorway base is several metres above ground level, so it is less likely to absorb water and turn over, but long-term settlement still exists. The reasons for this, rainwater infiltration, material loss, base sinking is part of the reason, the road surface in the wheel load long-term crushing, vibration force, the material to both sides of the road base section lateral displacement is undeniably another very important reason. All levels of highways in our province, for example, are in the road of the main carriageway can obviously feel the road has been pressed out of an "S" groove-shaped belt. Part of the highway is no exception, the car driving in the lane of the bump is obviously stronger than the feeling of driving in the overtaking belt, in the road and bridge connection section is particularly obvious (commonly known as "bridge jump"). This trench-like settlement of the roadbed is typical of the lateral slippage of the roadbed material.

Geocell components

A geocell is a mesh structure made of high-strength HDPE or PP copolymer broadband, strongly welded or riveted together. It stretches freely, can be folded up during transport and opened up and filled with earth, stone or concrete material when in use, forming a structure with strong lateral restraint and high stiffness. It can be used as a bedding layer to increase the load-bearing capacity of soft foundations, laid on slopes to form slope protection structures, and used to build support structures.

Geocell main uses

1.For stabilising road and railway foundations.

2.For the treatment of embankments and shallow watercourses that are subject to load bearing forces.

3.For preventing landslides and for mixed retaining walls subject to load bearing forces.

4.In case of soft foundation. The use of geocells can greatly reduce the construction labour intensity, reduce the thickness of the roadbed construction speed, good performance, greatly reduce the cost of the project..

15.Three-dimensional vegetation mesh product features and functions

(Summary description)The three-dimensional vegetation net is a three-dimensional structure of loofah-like net mats used for planting and soil consolidation, with a loose and flexible texture, leaving 90% of space for filling with soil, gravel and fine stones, through which plant roots can grow in a neat and balanced manner.

Three-dimensional vegetation mesh product features and functions
Three-dimensional vegetation network ---- is a new type of civil engineering material, which belongs to the reinforcing body material in the field of new material technology repeated in each material in the national high-tech catalogue.

Product features.
Three-dimensional vegetation net is a three-dimensional structure like a loofah network-like net mat used for planting and soil consolidation, with loose and flexible texture, leaving 90% space for filling with soil, sand and gravel and fine stones, through which plant roots can pass and grow neatly and evenly, and the turf after growing makes the net mat, turf and soil surface firmly combined together, and as the plant roots can penetrate 30--40cm below the surface, a solid green composite protection layer is formed.

Product functions.
1. protects the surface of the land from the elements until the turf has grown in.
2. It can firmly keep the grass seed evenly distributed on the slope surface from being lost by wind and rain.
3. Black mesh mats can absorb a lot of heat, increase ground moisture, promote seed germination and prolong the growth period of the plants.
4. Due to the rough surface, wind and water currents create numerous eddies on the surface of the mats, thus creating a dissipative effect and encouraging the deposition of their carriers in the mats.
5. The composite protective layer formed by the plant growth can withstand high water levels and high flow velocities (3-4m/s in 2 days, 5-6m/s in 4-5 hours).
6. It can replace concrete, asphalt, stone and other slope protection materials for highways, railways, rivers, dams, hillsides and other slope protection.
7. The cost of the project can be greatly reduced, it is 1/7 of the cost of C15 concrete and dry block slope protection, and 1/8 of the cost of slurry block stone.
8. After laying on the sandy surface, it can prevent the movement of sand dunes, greatly improve the roughness of the surface, increase the surface sediment, change the physical and chemical properties of the surface and improve the ecological environment of the local area.