Soil nailing

Soil nails in the form of micropiles can be used to secure sections of slopes, unstable slopes and embankments, for the temporary and permanent anchorage of shotcrete facings, for securing excavations and in the refurbishment of retaining walls. The crucial advantage of soil nailing compared with conventional retaining structures is that nailing requires no additional excavation work.

The equipment required can be chosen to suit the local circumstances. This guarantees that almost every drilling position can be reached with suitable equipment.

The choice of head detail depends on the specific application. Head details can be

  • temporary or permanent,
  • with or without angle compensation, and
  • assembled from system components.

The various possibilities for soil nailing are:

Slope stabilisation

When it comes to stabilising slopes, our micropiles are frequently used in conjunction with high-strength wire meshes to secure the surface. In many cases the anchors for the wire mesh are installed together with rockfall fencing, which is also secured with micropiles. All exposed steel parts should be galvanised to ensure protection against corrosion.

Slope stabilisation applications:

  • Securing unstable slopes and critical earth slopes
  • Measures to protect against rockfall
  • Protection of structures and infrastructure

References
Slope stabilisation

Excavation shoring

Temporary and permanent excavation shoring with micropiles to anchor shotcrete facing can be easily adapted to suit local circumstances. Heavy equipment is not required to construct walls to secure an excavation. The excavation is secured step by step, every approx. 1.5–2.0 m deep, as the excavation proceeds.

References
Excavation shoring

Transport infrastructure

Railways
Embankments (natural or man-made) alongside railway lines can be secured with micropiles acting as soil nails to stabilise slopes both above and below the tracks. Likewise, the stability of raised embankments for railway tracks can be improved by installing micropiles-applied as soil nails.

Roads
Slopes both above and below a road can be secured with micropiles acting as soil nails.

Canals
Embankments alongside canals can be secured with micropiles acting as soil nails as an alternative to sheet pile walls. A shotcrete facing and anchored wire mesh (to encourage vegetation) are also possibility here.

References
Transport infrastructure

Retaining walls

Soil nailing with micropiles in combination with retaining walls is a frequent approach when designing slope stabilisation measures. Existing structures are often refurbished in these cases. In this design approach, the grid is smaller, the loads are lower and the elements are shorter than for typical anchorages for retaining structures according to DIN EN 14199.

References
Retaining walls