Posts Categorized: GEOWEB Geocells Soil Stabilization System

Building Energy Roads in Harsh Conditions With the GEOWEB® System

Energy sites are often located in remote and difficult-to-access sites in environments with poor soils, limited road-building resources, and extreme weather conditions. Site Challenges in Western Canada In Western Canada’s Oil Sands region, transporting construction equipment, drilling rigs, and completions apparatus – all with heavy wheel loads (typical loads exceeding 125,000 lbs.) is the challenge. It can be extremely difficult to accomplish this over the soft, wet ground (thick muskeg and saturated clays) typical of this region. Add the challenge of working in the dead of winter in below-zero temperatures and on frozen ground, with limited road building materials, and the scenario makes accessing the sites extremely difficult. In the wettest months, muddy conditions can make access by heavy trucks and equipment nearly impossible. So, energy companies typically wait for the ground to freeze before ramping back up construction.  Even in winter, access to remote oil sites creates challenges including undeveloped roads, soft ground, and scarce materials suitable for constructing roads. A Road Solution Built for Extreme Conditions The GEOWEB® 3D Soil Confinement System is built for these challenges.  The all-weather HDPE material is fast to install and isn’t hindered by soft ground or extreme temperatures. GEOWEB® 3D technology allows… Read more »

Designing and Building Sustainable Multi-Use Trails Using 3D Soil Confinement

GEOWEB Recreational Trail

Trails and greenways play a vital role in communities by preserving and creating open spaces for low or no-cost outdoor recreation. They encourage people to get outside and safely explore environmentally sensitive areas that would otherwise be difficult or dangerous to access. Trails also function as a safe transportation corridor for those who commute by foot or bicycle. When talking about recreational trails, it’s also important to acknowledge the economic impact they have on communities. Many recreational trails across the country are revenue-generating tourist destinations that positively impact local economies. Fundamentals of Good Recreational Trail Design There are three key considerations to good trail design: reinforcement, drainage, and confinement of surface materials. These are critical components required to withstand repeated traffic loading, resist degradation from erosion, and minimize environmental impact. Finding economical and low-maintenance solutions to stabilize trails and greenways can be difficult. It is even more challenging in poor soil environments or environmentally sensitive areas where minimal disturbance is allowed, or where paving or filling within an existing floodplain or coastal area is limited by local, state, or federal regulations. Presto Geosystems’ soil stabilization solutions overcome these challenges by providing low environmental impact options that offer long-term stability for… Read more »

Great American Outdoors Act Provides Billions of Dollars for Overdue Repairs and Maintenance of U.S. National Parks

Congress recently passed the most significant piece of land conservation legislation in a generation. The Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA)—a rare bipartisan effort—will provide full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund at $900 million annually and will put $9.5 billion over the next five years toward the deferred maintenance backlog on public lands. The GAOA provides $6.5 billion specifically for the 419 national park units. President Trump signed the bill into law on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. Increased Use and Lack of Funding Caused Maintenance Backlog This piece of legislation will have a historical impact on National Parks in the United States. The number of visitors to national parks has increased by 50% since 1980, but budgets have remained virtually flat. This imbalance has contributed to a $12 billion backlog of repairs to access roads, trails, campgrounds, monuments, and other parks infrastructure. Parks and recreational trails have recently become even more popular due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With limited indoor entertainment options, people have rediscovered their love for the outdoors. As this trend continues, our national parks must be equipped with the infrastructure necessary to sustain them in the long term. The Importance of Green Infrastructure & Low… Read more »

Why Geocells Outperform Geogrids for Road Construction

Written By: Bill Handlos, PE, Director of Presto Geosystems Geocells (cellular confinement) offer a more effective and practical 3D design solution to load support challenges than multilayered 2D geogrid efforts. Geocells transfer applied loads instantaneously, delivering practical soil stabilization in a product that is fast and easy to install.        How do geogrids work? Geogrids rely on rutting, displacement and lateral movement of the road material to activate the load support reaction of the product. As shown below, failure of the driving surface must occur before the geogrid reacts. As a result, rutting and soil displacement is a prerequisite reality to the system. Since the geogrid is two-dimensional, material not located directly within the plane occupied by the geogrid is free to move, shift and displace. It is essential that geogrids are placed in a flat or a pre-tensioned manner—but that is not practical in a construction environment. It is common to see geogrids unrolled over a prepared grade with an undulating surface. As aggregate is placed over the top of the geogrid, the material kinks and waves, further warping the 2D plane. The geogrid is rarely pulled tight during installation which does not allow full tension under… Read more »

Bringing Stability to an Unstable World

With this summer’s extremely wet weather conditions across the country, building access roads is a major challenge.  Muddy, soft ground is causing construction delays when it comes to moving heavy vehicles and equipment over the soft soils. Presto’s GEOWEB® Soil Stabilization System offers a way to build roads even with these site challenges using low-cost, local fill—and has been doing so for over 30 years. In fact, the GEOWEB system is the go-to solution for many oil companies in remote areas like the Canadian oil sands and the Amazon basin. Recently, EnergyNow Media featured an article on GEOWEB roads addressing the latest access challenges in the energy sector. The EnergyNow article is republished below. Reprint of recent article written by “EnergyNow Media” (North American Energy Magazine) Presto Geosystems: Bringing Stability to an Unstable World Oil and gas is a tricky business. Everything from resource extraction to site management to processing is fraught with difficulties, challenges, and trials. However, one often-overlooked aspect within this industry is that of simply being able to access the resource site in the first place. Once access is established, it’s crucial that there is a clean, stable platform to work on and transport resources back out…. Read more »

Choosing the Right Geocell

Written By: Bryan Wedin P.E., Chief Design Engineer, Presto Geosystems Not all geocells are created equal. While most manufacturers can provide similar-looking written specifications, you need assurances that the material delivered for your project is of the high quality that you expect. Important factors in the success of your geocell project include: Quality The geocell material is proven, strong, and will last Require only the highest quality virgin High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) resin Low quality or recycled resin can lead to weak and/or inconsistent seam strength, putting the success of your project at risk. Non-HDPE materials cannot match the nearly 40 years of in-ground experience of HDPE geocells and plastic alloy proprietary blends can mask cheap stiff filler materials. ISO Certification Important, but the manufacturer sets the testing protocol for the certification. Require a Certificate of Analysis (COA) for the material that is shipped to your project. An ISO certification that does not require continuous testing is lacking. Integral Components The complete solution includes proper components Non-corrosive, high-strength panel connection method (ATRA® Keys vs. weak staples or zip ties) Anchors that provide secure connections to the geocell (ATRA® stakes vs. J-hooks) Load Transfer Devices for tendon applications that are non-corrosive and… Read more »

Creep Not a Factor for Geocell Load Support

Written by Matthew Kuester and Bill Handlos, PE 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.  Creep is something that creates fear and uncertainty with all designers where the possibility of creep factors exist. 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.  Yet, in the case of designing with geocells for load support, creep factors have no relevance. What Causes Creep? In order for creep to occur there must be; a constant load applied and a sustained deformation.  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 would be governed by fatigue and not by creep.  The second required factor for creep to occur is an ability to undergo sustained deformation of the… Read more »

A Simple Question

How long does it take to install? It is a question we hear every day. When it comes to cost and installation rates for geosynthetic construction products, there are no simple answers to what seems like simple questions. In fact, beware of those who try to simplify determination of installation costs for their products with quick answers or charts and tables to determine construction rates. Experienced project managers and site supervisors of the crews charged with installation are in the best position to estimate productivity rates. They know best their crew’s capability and the characteristics of the site involved. The variables that need to be considered include: Crew size, talent, work ethic and workday length Temperature, precipitation and length of day (sunlight) Experience with product class Size of the project Site Access Site Conditions (see weather) Crew The optimum crew size is important. Too small and you may lose the benefits of assembly line productivity. Too large and you will find that you fall over each other and pay for extra “inspectors”. All crews are not created equally. The familiarity with tools and techniques vary greatly as does the work ethic both between crews and by region and country. Weather… Read more »

Seven Key Factors to Choosing the Right Geocell

Written by William G. Handlos, P.E. Choosing the Right Geocell Does excellent quality and support matter to you? Of course it does. But, you are smart enough to know that there is no free lunch. Low cost alternatives are less expensive for a reason. So, what do you need to look for to recognize the right geocell for your project? 1.  Quality Feedstock Insist upon verifiable proof that your geocell is manufactured only with virgin high density polyethylene. While it is possible to achieve poor weld strength with virgin materials, it is impossible to achieve consistently excellent weld strength unless only virgin high density polyethylene is used. 2.  Integral Components Choose a geocell that offers connection components, tendons, stakes, load transfer clips and installation tools that are specifically tailored for the system. Using rope, staples, bent rebars (J hooks) and zip ties that are not specifically designed for use with a geocell engineered solution is unwise and potentially catastrophic. Use only designs that recognize the critical nature of these components to the overall success of the project. 3.  Experience and Warranty Choose a manufacturer who has thousands of projects and decades of experience. It is shocking how little some manufacturers… Read more »