Have you ever heard of coir geocell? Soil erosion often occurs due to increased human activities as well as climate changes. Continuous loss of soil particles causes landslides, especially on steep slopes. Landslides are a common natural disaster that happens especially in countries with high rainfall rates. Therefore, it is better to take efforts to prevent soil erosion as early as possible.
The most common erosion prevention method is by using vegetation. Vegetation can absorb water when it rains and block the effects of the wind to blow the topsoil. However, vegetation takes time to grow and fully work as slope protection. The period of planting for vegetation to grow is a critical period where the erosion rate is high, especially during the rainy season.
So, some geotechnical engineering was performed to prevent erosion. The most common materials used in this geotechnical engineering are woven coconut coir, coir geomats, and coir geocell.
What is Coir Geocell?
Coir geocells are a group of geosynthetics. The United States Army Corps Engineers is the first one that used these in soil reinforcement engineering back in September 1975 to test the feasibility of constructing a road-to-bridge approach over soft soil. Today, soil reinforcement using geocells is not only for road reinforcement but also for different geotechnical structures, such as slope stability, embankments, retaining walls, and so on.
Coir geocell is a lightweight and flexible 3-dimensional panel that can be expanded like a harmonica. The main material is HDPE or High-Density Polyethylene strip that is ultrasonically bonded to obtain a strong configuration and form a honeycomb-like structure. Based on the surface, there are 2 types of geocells, which are smooth geocells and textured geocells.
Geocells are filled with non-cohesive compact soil confined within the cellular walls. Composites form rigid to semi-rigid structures. The dept of geocells as well as the size of each cellular unit may vary according to design requirements. Generally, the filling is sand or gravel. However, the filling may be plain concrete, on the application, such as erosion protection, drains, and so on.
Geocell is a 3-dimensional structure that provides a confinement effect on the soil structure, which is effective for slope protection.
The Benefits
Below are some benefits of using coir geocell.
- Geocell is the only prefabricated 3-dimensional geosynthetic with significant third dimensional properties.
- They are easy to transport as wide-welded flat strips at regular intervals. You can also use it for a large quantity of logistics.
- Geocell is easy to install and does not require professionals to install them. You can install geocell in any weather conditions.
- Geocell as a solution to civil or geotechnical problems always prove to be cost effective with reduced use of valuable natural resources, such as metals, cement, sand, and others. Cost savings can be as much as 30 percent for road construction and time savings can be up to 50 percent.
- Geocells substantially reduce maintenance costs by increasing the road lifespan when it is used for roads and pavements.
That is what you need to know about coir geocell. If you interest to know more information about coir geocell, you can visit our website. You can also click here to send a direct message with our team.