Neoloy® Geocells Makes South African Gravel Roads Stronger & Sustainable
If you are building a gravel road over soft soil – expansive clay, sand or peat bogs – Neoloy Geocells offer a proven solution.
Neoloy Geocells are an ideal solution for dirt and gravel roads and gravel road construction for soft, problematic soils in South Africa. Neoloy is an innovative geoengineering technology example that improves gravel road construction, makes gravel roads more sustainable and reduces gravel road costs – particularly in problematic soils, difficult locations and where aggregate resources are limited.
If you have a gravel road design or gravel road specification over the soft ground with expansive clay, sand or peat bogs, or high water tables, Neoloy Geocells offer a unique proven solution:
Road Reinforcement for Expansive Clay
Neoloy Geocell reinforcement of gravel roads over expansive clay soils creates a beam effect over the problematic subgrade. This results in a layer that essentially ‘floats’ over the clay layer, minimizes the effects of heaving (Read more)
Road Reinforcement for Sandy Soils
The 3D confinement of Neoloy Geocells enables the use of non-cohesive sand for structural infill in gravel roads. Geocells increase the bearing capacity and elastic modulus of the reinforced sand by providing confinement to the infill material. (Read more)
Road Reinforcement for Saturated Peat
Neoloy Geocells confine, stabilize and reinforce granular material in saturated peat soil. The Neoloy increases the modulus of the layer and distributes vertically stresses laterally. The result is a stiff layer that increase bearing capacity and prevents settlement. (Read more)
The Neoloy gravel road pavement performance enables all-weather, durable use and an extended service life. This reduces repairs, increases maintenance cycles and saves maintenance budgets. South African gravel roads constructed with Neoloy Geocells are more sustainable and economic with a lower total life-cycle cost.
Alternative cement and chemical stabilizers are complicated and time-consuming to apply while their long-term effectiveness is unreliable. In addition, stabilizers are often affected by rain and water, as any cracks provide entry for water and eventual weakening of a gravel road base.
See case studies to learn more about Neoloy Geocell gravel road construction here.
Benefits
- Improve bearing capacity of soft soils (reduce vertical stress by 50%)
- Modulus improvement factor enables reduction of layer thickness x3
- Improve gravel road durability and lifespan in all climates and temperature
- Confinement protects soil integrity preventing movement of infill
- Use available local borrow pits even with marginal infill to reduce gravel layers – saves money, time and resources
- Lower gravel road construction costs for limited budgets and maintenance cycles
- Self-draining system protects the gravel road base and prevents accumulation of surface water for reliable year-round transportation
- Use of local soils reduces need to import gravel aggregate
- Sufficient long-term durability to serve the rural communities throughout rainy seasons, without degradation and repairs.