💧 GEOWEB® Geocells for Erosion Control & Vegetation Can exposed sidewalls on an erosion control wall be finished with rock or other materials? Yes. It’s common to cover exposed sidewalls with rock or other finishes. In many cases, riprap is placed at the base to protect against scour, especially in areas with water flow. What happens when vegetation goes dormant in winter? Does erosion increase? Great question. Effective erosion control accounts for seasonal variability by incorporating erosion control blankets or turf reinforcement mats that are selected and sized based on site-specific hydraulic conditions and anticipated velocities. By working closely with erosion control manufacturers and relying on proven design methodologies, these systems maintain soil stability and erosion resistance year-round, ensuring performance even when vegetation is inactive. 🚧 GEOWEB Geocells: Construction & Maintenance If used in road construction, how do you repair a geocell system? Repairs are straightforward and similar to other planar geosynthetics (e.g., geogrids, geotextiles) systems: Excavate down to the GEOWEB geocell layer to expose the affected area. Cut the material using a concrete or pipe saw to allow access. Perform the repair (e.g., pipe replacement). Patch the system with the new GEOWEB geocell and geotextile material. View All GEOWEB… Read more »
Posts By: Katie Bocskor
How GEOWEB® Retaining Walls Work: Design & Installation FAQs
GEOWEB® Retaining Walls have enhanced transportation infrastructure, site development, and environmental and landscape projects for over 45 years, delivering flexibility, stability, and cost efficiency. As engineers, contractors, and owners evaluate the GEOWEB Walls for real-world applications, common questions often arise around design considerations, installation practices, and long-term performance. The following Q&A addresses some of the most frequently asked questions about the GEOWEB Wall System, providing practical guidance and insight into best practices for successful design and construction. Q: How do you install guardrails in GEOWEB Geocell Walls? A: The preferred approach is to place posts behind the geocell wall face, rather than penetrating the system. Typically, posts are offset from the face and embedded into the reinforced zone. This approach avoids cutting the panels and preserves confinement. If project constraints require guardrail posts to penetrate the panels, additional care is needed. Post locations should be coordinated in advance, so they align with cell seams or junctions, rather than cutting through the center of cells. Any required cuts to the cell walls should be clean and minimal, with the cut cells zip-tied to adjacent cells to prevent damage. A sonotube should be installed around the post to isolate it from the… Read more »
Temporary Access Mats Help Keep Recreational Spaces Open During Construction
By: JP George, Business Manager, Presto Geosystems In the nonstop rush to complete the latest to-dos, leisure time often gets pushed aside. Yet those moments we spend doing what we love are essential. Whether it’s a quiet walk through the woods, a yoga class, cycling, painting, gaming, gardening, or a round of golf, these activities help us recharge and reconnect. Unfortunately, most of us have far too little time for the activities we enjoy, so when recreational spaces are disrupted by repairs, maintenance, or new construction, minimizing downtime matters. Fast project completion can make the difference between weeks of closure and getting people back to enjoying their favorite activities. Golf Course Construction Without the Lengthy Downtime A friend of mine, Patrick, is an avid golfer. Unlike me, where golf is equal parts relaxation and frustration, Patrick actually knows what he is doing and thoroughly enjoys it. Like many of us, Patrick balances work, family, and a packed schedule, so finding time for golf isn’t easy. One of his favorite courses, Kings Mill in Virginia, recently underwent “playable area” repairs following a major storm event. Restoring the damaged sections required heavy construction equipment to move across the course fairways and surrounding… Read more »
GEOWEB® Geocell Installation: Answers to Common Field Questions
Thank you to all who participated in our recent webinar, “Best Practices for Installing the GEOWEB® Geocell System,” and for submitting your technical questions regarding GEOWEB® Geocells. Based on the discussion and submitted inquiries, we’ve compiled answers to some of the most frequently asked topics to help clarify how the GEOWEB system works and where it delivers the greatest value. If you didn’t catch the live webinar, view the on-demand webinar here and earn PDH credits. Q1. How difficult is it to address a poor or failed subgrade with GEOWEB Geocells? Addressing a poor subgrade with the GEOWEB systems is typically straightforward and highly effective when properly designed. Rather than relying on deep undercutting or chemical soil treatment, the GEOWEB system mechanically stabilizes weak soils by confining the infill and distributing loads laterally. This reduces vertical stress on the subgrade and minimizes rutting and shear deformation. From a construction standpoint, installation is simple and often completed with only minimal subgrade preparation. Even in very weak conditions (CBR < 3%), the GEOWEB system can significantly reduce required aggregate thickness while improving overall performance, making it a more reliable and more cost-effective solution than traditional stabilization methods. To eliminate uncertainty, we offer a… Read more »
Presto Geosystems Announces Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for Geocells
With the commercialization of geocell soil confinement technology in the early 1980s, Presto Geosystems made history as one of the early pioneers in the world of geosynthetics. Over four decades later, that innovative spirit is as alive today as it was at the beginning of our journey. Presto Geosystems, the leader in geocell technology, announces the publication of the industry´s first Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for geocells. This milestone reinforces Presto Geosystems’ ongoing commitment to reliable infrastructure and environmental quality. What is an Environmental Product Declaration? An EPD is a transparent, objective report that communicates what a product is made of and how it impacts the environment across its entire life cycle. The EPD, based on rigorous life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, provides a comprehensive overview of the environmental impacts associated with the production, use, and disposal of Presto Geosystems’ GEOWEB® geocell system. This independent declaration includes key metrics such as carbon dioxide performance, energy consumption, and natural resource usage, all of which are vital factors influencing the overall environmental footprint of soil stabilization and erosion control solutions in civil and structural applications. The EPD follows established international standards, including ISO 14025, lending to the credibility and consistency of the… Read more »
Understanding Hoop Stress and Wall Tension in Geocells
Written By: Samantha Justice, P.E., Bryan Wedin, P.E. Geocells provide one of the most powerful solutions available to engineers and contractors when designing and constructing roadways over soft and weak subgrades. With a successful track record of over 40 years, geocells have proven effective in load support applications over challenging conditions. If you’ve ever wondered how geocells work in load support applications – and the relationship between lateral confinement, hoop stress and wall tension – you’ve come to the right place. Geocells are used to alter vertical stresses beneath an applied cyclical load. When a vertical, cyclical load is applied over geocells, active earth pressures develop in the loaded cell. These pressures arise due to the friction between the infill material and the cell wall. This friction pushes back against the passive earth pressure in the adjacent cells, helping to support the load. Refer to Figure 1. The balance of active and passive earth pressures activates the hoop stress in the cell walls, which increases the stiffness and bearing capacity of infill material. The infill material is confined within the individual cells with no chance of displacement, or lateral or vertical spreading and the result is increased stiffness. In effect,… Read more »
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Announces $1.1 Billion Available in the Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) Grant Program
The inaugural Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) grant program was designed to eliminate or improve roadway and railroad at-grade crossings, with the goal of making roads/rails safer while improving commute times for citizens. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation website, “this program provides funding for highway-rail or pathway-rail grade crossing improvement projects that focus on improving the safety and mobility of people and goods.” The grant program helps fund projects that involve: repairing grade separations, relocating tracks, upgrading or improving protective devices, signals, or signs, maintaining at-grade crossings, and more. With safety as the top priority for the DOT, repairing and maintaining high-impact areas is critical so the potential for collisions or blockages can be prevented. Applications for funding are due no later than 11:59 p.m. EST, September 23, 2024. Visit USDOT website for more information and to apply for funding >> The GEOWEB® System stabilizes high-impact and crossing areas safely and quickly, limiting track downtime. Areas subjected to heavy stresses at bridge approaches, diamonds, turn-outs, and crossings create the highest maintenance and safety liabilities for operations. The GEOWEB Soil Stabilization System (Geocells) is effective in reducing maintenance in these high impact areas. The GEOWEB 3D Soil Confinement System has been… Read more »
Energy Infrastructure and Climate Change: Protecting Erodible Slopes in Fire-Prone Areas
Energy infrastructure is critical to the functioning of modern societies, and its protection against natural disasters and environmental threats is a top priority. Climate change exacerbates these disaster risks, with extreme weather conditions and wildfires being of particular concern, considering potential damage to the energy infrastructure and disruption of energy supply. Wildfires cause rapid, severe destruction, and, aside from damage to infrastructure, can impact our climate, vegetation, and atmosphere. To measure the size and impact wildfires have, scientists use observations from several low Earth-orbit satellites, including the Copernicus Sentinel-3. These tracking satellites gather shortwave-infrared data combined with other techniques to differentiate between burned areas and other low reflectance covers such as clouds. The European Space Agency (ESA) compiles that long-term dataset to analyze global fire trends. According to the ESA, fire affects an estimated four million square kilometers (1.5 million square miles) of Earth´s land each year [1]. That is 400,000,000 hectares (990,000,000 acres) yearly—about half the size of the United States of America, an area larger than the country of India. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Rapid Response Assessment on Wildfires compiles findings from over 50 experts from research institutions, government agencies, and international organizations around the globe, and… Read more »
Creep is not a factor for geocell load support
Written by: Bryan Wedin, Chief Engineer An accurate understanding of creep resistance is essential to proper material selection when using polymers, and in the case of geocells, this science is being misapplied. The definition of creep deformation is “the tendency of a solid material to move slowly or deform permanently under the influence of mechanical stress.” This potential failure mode creates fear and uncertainty among designers wherever the possibility of creep factors exists. Yes, creep can occur in almost all materials including plastics, metals, and concrete. In cases such as bridge and building design, it is important to properly understand creep factors and account for creep in engineering calculations. However, in the case of designing with geocells for load support, creep factors have no relevance. What causes creep? In order for creep to occur, two factors must be present: 1) A constant load applied to the area and 2) A sustained deformation of the geocells. Creep only applies when there is a sustained load on a material for an extended period. In a case of repeated on- and off-loading, this type of deformation would be governed by fatigue, not by creep, because it is not a constant applied load. The… Read more »
Using Geosynthetics to Stabilize Soils in a Harsh Environment
By Dhani Narejo, PE, Bruno Hay, and Bryan Wedin, PE Mine Site Erosion Problems One of the largest nickel mining sites in the world is located on the South Pacific island of New Caledonia. Due to the size of the mining project and the terrain of the site, significant cut-and-fill work for civil engineering structures was unavoidable. Given the magnitude of the site, the challenge of safeguarding the structures against erosion is formidable. Inaction is not an option due to the sensitive nature of the structures, environmental concerns, and a keen desire by the owners to protect the environment. A typical example of the erosion at the site is the slope in Figure 1. Such slopes require continuous maintenance if the erosion problem is not addressed. In some cases, erosion can cause interruption in the mobility of materials and personnel at the site. Several erosion-control measures had been successfully used at the site, including riprap and concrete. An alternate erosion control system was desired by the owner that would meet the following objectives: Be cost-effective, Require little or no maintenance, Utilize local labor and materials, Have a design life exceeding 50 years. Soil, topography, weather Ultrabasic soils cover about one-third… Read more »
800.548.3424
