Case Studies

Gateway Upgrade Project

Due to increases in population growth throughout Brisbane and most particularly in developing southern and northern suburbs, with the subsequent increase in vehicle movements, the major North South Freeway connecting these suburbs to Brisbane was rapidly becoming traffic choked.

ACEGrid® – TOYOTA Forklift Site

In 2011, the Toyota Forklift site at Larapinta was to be raised and leveled as part of the site development. The existing boundary was to be raised to allow a concreted hardstand to be constructed above the retaining wall maintaining as much usable area as possible on the hardstand area.

ACEGrid® – Two Tree Hill

During the intense wet period of 2011 and 2013, Southeast Qld received record rainfall. Due to saturated soils, there were landslips creating many road closures in the rain affected areas. This particular failure occurred beside the Warrego Highway at Minden in the Lockyer Valley.

Combigrid® – Hardstand in Brisbane

In 2011, TRANSCITY was selected as the contractor to design, construct and operate the Legacy Way Toll Road in Brisbane’s west. Legacy Way, once complete, will connect the Western Freeway at Mount Coot-tha with the Inner City Bypass at Kelvin Grove.

Combigrid® – Harvey Norman Platform

In 2011, it was planned to build granular piling rig access platforms to facilitate the installation of piles for support of the new Harvey Norman bulky goods project in Maroochydore in Australia to increase the low subgrade strength and to provide sufficient bearing capacity for the imposed loads of the cranes.

Berrinba Retaining wall

Reinforced Soil Structure Wall As industrial land on flat sites throughout the Brisbane area is now in short supply. Developers are moving to sloping sites and creating flat blocks by cut and fill earthworks.

Moreton Bay Rail Link

With several years of experience Global Synthetics have been involved in many projects  and have played a key role in providing value engineered, technically viable solutions to construction projects, read some of your stories.

Reinforced Piling Platform – Northshore Stage 1, Hamilton

With several years of experience Global Synthetics have been involved in many projects  and have played a key role in providing value engineered, technically viable solutions to construction projects, read some of your stories.

Portside East Development

With several years of experience Global Synthetics have been involved in many projects  and have played a key role in providing value engineered, technically viable solutions to construction projects, read some of your stories.

The Magic of Combigrid®/Secugrid® Reinforcement for Pilling Platforms -Gallery House Brisbane

As the construction site was adjacent to the Brisbane River, the existing poor sandy subgrade did not have the required bearing capacity to withstand the proposed 370kPa piling rig pressures to be applied during operations.

ACEGrid®Completes the Largest Reinforced Embankment in the Southern Hemisphere

In 2013, the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) identified the need to improve safety along a section of the Peak Downs Highway near Mackay. The existing highway crosses the Eton Range just inland from Mackay, with numerous switchbacks and undulating peaks and valleys.

Bentofix® – Airport Sealing

One of the largest infrastructure projects in Europe in recent years has been in Toulouse-Blagnac in France on the premises of the airport and the Airbus factory where in future the new Airbus A 380 is to be built.

Bentofix® – Canadian Dam

The following example illustrates a project using a needlepunched geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) as a stand-alone sealing barrier for a retention dam built for Sainte-Marguertie hydroelectric dam.

Bentofix® – Canal Sealing

After the first pilot project installation of a geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) in a 1 km long section of the Havel-Oder-Waterway in 1997/98, approved by the local German Water and Ship Authority a second project followed shortly after.

Bentofix® – Environmental Protection

The project had been discussed for more than 40 years before the three-laned road (width 11.50 m) was finally constructed in 2002.

Bentofix® – Flood Protection

The devasting flooding that took place in 2002 has led to various of dyke construction projects in order to be better prepared for future flood situations.

Bentofix® – Golf Course Lining

For the sealing of a base of golf course pond a 30 cm layer of sand benonite mixture was designed to be placed in Samsung Everland Gapyung Benest Golf course 60 km Northeast of Seoul.

Bentofix® – Landfill In Estonia

The largest landfill in Estonia, Pääsküla Landfill, just outside the capital city of Tallinn, was capped in 2005 with the work finishing in 2006. Although parts of the landfill had been in place for many years, substantial settlements were expected.

Bentofix® – Pipe Jacketing

The City of Bad Elster, Germany resolved to put in new sewage lines. Since this construction project was within a category II medical water preservation zone, secondary protection for piping was necessary to protect medical water in the area.

Bentofix® – Soil Contamination

When constructing or extending new roads, the responsible designers and contractors are increasingly faced with the task of preventing soil contamination. Therefore, measures for the protection of the groundwater are necessary in more and more cases.

Bentofix® – Waterproofing

One of the worlds largest pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilley is extending its facility at Windlesham near London in the U.K. The scheme comprises new research laboratories of 15,352 m² and includes ancillary offices. They are demolishing 3,869m² of the present building.

Hervey Range and Stuart Landfill Capping with Bentofix® X10F Coated GCL

Townsville City Council in the north of Queensland Australia is one of the largest regional cities in the northern part of Australia home to some 200,000 residents.  The Townsville Waste Services Department issued documentation for contract in late 2014 for capping and stormwater management of its 2 largest waste facilities at Stuart landfill and Hervey Range.

Goulburn Murray Water Channels

Goulburn Murray Water (GMW) services an area in excess of 68,000 square kilometres, providing over 1,500 GL (1,500,000,000,000 litres) of water to almost 40,000 customers.  The channels,  which provides the water to these customers encounter losses due to leaks and seepage.  To ensure and maintain GMW’s primary functions which includes harvesting, storing and delivering water, a solution is required.

ProDrain® – Welby Highway Cutting

The use of ProDrain® Strip Filter Drain is an ideal product for use in combination with stabilisation treatments of cliff faces and steep slopes with shotcrete face treatments.

South Golden Beach –Protank® Infiltration System

With several years of experience Global Synthetics have been involved in many projects  and have played a key role in providing value engineered, technically viable solutions to construction projects, read some of your stories.

Munno Para Auto Masters Store – ProTank® Detention System

A new Auto Masters store to be constructed in Adelaide’s north, was mandated by local authorities to include a storm water detention system to aid in mitigating flood events. Depth of existing services and limited building footprints limited the design options. The system had to meet a minimum holding capacity of 54,000 litres, later increased to 76,000 litres.

Currumbin Creek – Link Gabion Retaining Wall

Landslips that occurred during the extreme flooding in SE Qld in 2011 and 2013 caused extensive damage to the infrastructure in the area. Currumbin Creek Rd services many houses in Currumbin Valley and was majorly impacted by the downpour.

Walter’s Brook Restoration – Linkweld® Weldmesh Gabions

Walter’s Brook had become degraded due to large sediment deposits washing in from drain outlets and severe bank erosion due to inappropriate alignment of the drainage channel.

Armormax® – Border Road

The Border Road and Fence Project is a 2,000+ mile (3219 km) project being constructed along the U.S.-Mexico Border from San Diego, CA to Brownsville, TX. The project is unique in that this road is being constructed with respect to political boundaries regardless of terrain.

Armormax® – California Highway

During the heavy rainy season in California’s Calaveras County, a steep cut 1:1 slope along Highway 26 became saturated, creating a shallow slope failure. Caltrans District 10 Maintenance, the department responsible for the repair, was tasked with repairing the slope quickly because of the threat of potential land slides to travellers as well as the negative environmental impact of sediment release into an adjacent sensitive waterway—the Mokelumne River.

Armormax® – Florida Canal

Surrounding elements played a role in influencing the design of this canal where Regal Boats test drives their watercraft. The back side of the canal had limited area for construction and backed up to a fence.

Armormax® – Gordy Pump Station

The first levee armoring project designed by the New Orleans District of the Corp of Engineers (COE) post Hurricane Katrina utilized ArmorMax®, an Anchored Reinforced Vegetation System.

Armormax® – Penn Levee

When Hurricane Katrina madelandfall on August 29, 2005 it caused devastating flood damage to large portions of southeastern Louisiana—but it was not the only hurricane to hit the area that year. Hurricane Rita made landfall in late September, causing catastrophic tidal inundation to the community of Lafitte as it passed south of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.

Landlok 450® – Channel Vegetation

Trailwood West Limited Partnership, a local developer in the Town of Payson, Arizona, wanted to develop 90 acres (36.4 hectares) of forested farmland into a 313-home subdivision. An existing channel with intermittent flow levels, known as the North Tributary of American Gulch, meandered through the project site, raising a stormwater concern with the Town.

Pyramat® – Blue Metal Hill

During construction of the Hume Highway the consortium tasked for the design and construction of this project encountered a number of environmentally sensitive areas through which clean water open drains had to be constructed. The original design called for traditional concrete drains and rock beaching.

Pyramat® – Albury

Due to continued development upstream, the potential for flooding was greatly increased by reduced opportunity for natural groundwater recharge by natural channels. The City of Albury were concerned this flood protection bank would fail and erode away during a significant storm event.

Landlok® – Sweetwater Creek

The original design for this drain on the Hume Highway was concrete, however due to wet conditions and poor access, this proved impossible to construct. Engineers for the project approached BTL Australia to investigate the use of Turf Reinforcement Mat (TRM) technology for a financially viable alternative.

Landlok® – Upgrade Mungabareena

Increasing flows due to development saw the need to widen the existing drain as heavy flows frequently breached the existing drain banks.

Landlok® 450 – Ohio Interstate

Widening of interstate highways can present challenging erosion control problems. The additional pavement surface will collect and convey more water in a shorter time during a given storm event.

Landlok® 450 – Texas DOT

In order to satisfy the Texas, U.S.A., Department of Transportation’s (TXDOT) needs for high quality erosion control materials, Propex Geosynthetics initiated testing of its Landlok® TRM 450 turf reinforcement mat with the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI). The institute evaluated the performance characteristics of a variety of erosion control materials installed as channel linings.

Landlok® 450- Picnic Bay Landfill Rehabilitation

Townsville City Council has started to rehabilitate the Picnic Bay Landfill site. From May until September 2016; this has involved shaping the landfill and placing a temporary clay cap on the mound to prevent the exposure of the waste via erosion of the landfill surface. The temporary cap had to be protected and stabilised immediately to prevent erosion. A durable system was required due to very high to extreme UV index.

USACE ENGINEER RESEARCH DEV. CENTER VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) discovered that its Rapid Repair Levee Breach (RRLB) facility was deteriorating due to severe, rain-induced erosion. The RRLB facility, a part of the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), was designed to assist the USACE in determining practical and scientifically accurate engineering methods for evaluating the most challenging applications of flood protection materials.

70-MILE EARTHEN LEVEE GREATER NEW ORLEANS, LA

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District embarked on one of the largest and most comprehensive public works projects in American history following the catastrophic damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS) program was begun shortly after Katrina, constructing over $14 Billion of flood protection improvements such as levee enlargements, pump stations and closure complexes. One of the most critical measures of the HSDRRS was protection of refurbished earthen levees against the erosion-causing hydraulic forces of storm surge overtopping.

ACEFormer™- The Channel Protection Project in Taiwan

The construction site in Tainan County is a smooth terrain which extends to the west of the Taiwan Straits.  Therefore, changing the intrinsic topography and hydrology shortened the time of rain concentration and increase the surface runoff. It also increased the load of draining capacity and made the impair draining.

Propex Pyramat® a key ingredient in Perth’s Biobasins

The WA Department of Water’s integrated land and water planning is based on the principle of total water cycle management. This means that all aspects of water are looked at holistically, subsequently resulting in better water-sensitive urban design. In recent years this has been expanded to integrate land planning with water planning, so that better urban water management is now being adopted as part of new urban design and development.

Brisbane Valley Highway improved with Armormax®

After discussion with Global Synthetics, the project designer at GHD selected the Propex Armormax® system as an alternative to traditional hard armour. This system comprises a High Performance Turf Reinforcement Mat (HPTRM), in this instance Pyramat® 75, fixed with percussion ground anchors.

ProTube® – Winmalee Dewatering

Winmalee Sewage Treatment Plant is a waste water treatment facility located on the western outskirts of Sydney, NSW, Australia. The plant is located in an environmentally sensitive area and is located on an escarpment, near the town of Winmalee, NSW.

Miracell® – Brunei Highway

Part of existing Shot Crete wall along Airport Highway collapsed due to soil erosion underneath the concreted surface. Surface water runoff from the adjoining hill and water infiltration has caused gradual removal of soil through the cracks in concreted surface until it failed.

Naue Coastal Bags – Indonesia

The project 'Muara Karangsong' was developed under the Department of Waterway Engineering, Ministry of Public Works, West Java, Indonesia. The previoud design included stones and gabions.

Cocos Islands Under Threat GeoRock™ GSC’s to the Rescue

The Shire of Cocos (Keeling) Islands chose to use GeoRock™ GSCs (geotextile sand containers)to remediate a severely eroded section of William Keeling Cres. GeoRock™ provides an aesthetically pleasing, soft armour solution comprising a staple fibre geotextile with exceptional UV resistance, superior tensile strength and high levels of abrasion resistant.

Sand Containers Stop Beachfront Erosion in Torres Strait

The Torres Strait Islands are made up of 133 islands of which around 38 are uninhabited islands and two mainland communities located off the northern tip of Australia. Scattered over 48,000 square kilometres between Cape York and Papua New Guinea, many of the islands in the group are acutely affected by tidal erosion and storm damage along their exposed beaches.

Melbourne Regional Landfill (MRL)

With several years of experience Global Synthetics have been involved in many projects  and have played a key role in providing value engineered, technically viable solutions to construction projects, read some of your stories.

Highway Embankment Construction Using PYRAWALL Wrap-Face Vegetated Wall System

Pend Oreille County needed to remove a culvert on Indian Creek that was preventing Bull Trout from traveling upstream to spawn.  The Bull Trout are a threatened species under the U.S. Endanger Species Act and the stream is considered environmentally sensitive.  Additionally, the county needed to address the road’s condition. Its alignment was for a 35 mile per hour road, but the speed limit is 50 miles per hour.