ACETex® Reinforcement
Road and geotechnical design engineers are facing an increasing challenge throughout Australia of building roads, mining platforms and other infrastructure works on very problematic soils. Previous treatments might have involved very expensive excavation and replacement techniques, surcharging the site and waiting extended periods of time for increases in strength though pore water dissipation and consolidation or abandonment of the site option through cost. ACETex® provides engineers with a cost effective, proven alternative.
ACETex® geotextiles are polymer based geotextiles that are manufactured specifically for applications of soil reinforcement. Generally the engineering application for the product will determine the most suitable type of geotextile that should be selected for use by the designer or contractor.
ACETex® woven geotextile is used where very high strength reinforcement of soil is required such as under embankments.
Product Information: ACETex® woven geotextiles are manufactured from the extrusion of a polymer (polypropylene or polyester) into either a flat tape or filament product which may be then further processed by slitting or bundling and then weaving to form a fabric.
ACETex® woven geotextiles are ideally suited for applications of reinforcement or separation as the strength of the tape or filament within the fabric may be increased to suit a specific application. ACETex® woven geotextiles additionally have the ability to develop high strengths at relatively low strains which is a very important requirement in applications of reinforcement. Fabric strength is manufactured in two directions and may be varied to suit a particular reinforcement application. In applications of reinforcement and where a load may need to be sustained by the geotextile for significant periods of time the choice of polymer used in the construction of the fabric will determine the choice of woven product. The influence of creep effects on varying polymer types is well understood and will have a marked influence on the load carrying capability of the geotextile selected.
Applications: In applications of soil reinforcement the use of engineered geotextiles allows significant tensile strength to be imparted to soils. Soils are very weak in tension. The ACEtex® geotextile effectively “bridges” potential failure planes behind or below structures that normally would require significant additional cost to construct. The use of soil reinforcement techniques has proven to be a very cost effective method of construction.
Soil Reinforcement in Applications of: Embankment support over soft soils, embankment support over soft soils with wick drain treatment, embankment support over piles, support over voids, and load transfer platforms.
ACETex® woven geotextile is suitable for use in short term as well as very long term ground support applications with design lives in excess of 120 years. The product may be manufactured for site specific requirements. The rolls are available in wide widths up to 5.2m to minimise wastage from overlap requirements. Global Synthetics offer a range of woven geotextiles for applications of separation and reinforcement. The ACETex® geotextile range (polyester) of products is used for primary applications of reinforcement over extended periods of time. Typically the strength range of this product is between 100 kN/m to 1200 kN/m.
