The milestones in a Reinforced Earth project
| Whereas the largest part of
the work of Reinforced Earth teams takes place upstream of construction
sites in our engineering and
design offices, Reinforced Earth site operations can be divided into three
main phases.
The quick and easy assembly of Reinforced Earth® structures is notably due to no scaffolding or heavy plant being required. Each panel simply fits into the slot formed by the elements already in place. |
1 - Assembly of the facing Once the bottom row of panels is laid onto a smooth, well-levelled concrete foundation strip ensuring correct initial positioning, the upper rows of panels are assembled as the filling operation progresses. They are kept vertical by means of temporary wedges and clamps. 2 - Installing the reinforcements The reinforcement layers are spaced 70 to 80 cm apart, generally corresponding to twice the thickness of the backfill layers. They are positioned on the compacted fill layer and bolted to the facing panels in the case of steel reinforcements or threaded into sealed sheaths in the facing in the case of synthetic reinforcements. 3 - Backfilling and compacting The backfill is added in layers 30 to 40 cm thick and compacted using appropriate equipment. Machinery should not pass directly over the reinforcements and heavy vehicles should not travel closer than 1.50 m from the panels as this may impair their verticality. |