An ongoing Highways Agency upgrade project on the A66 Penrith to Scotch Corner Trans-Pennine route is the first scheme to benefit from the revolutionary new geogrid, the Tensar TriAx.
Specified by Balfour Beatty Regional Civil Engineering Limited, working with design partners Atkins, onsite contractors rolled out the first length of Tensar’s TriAx, 1500 sq metres in order to minimise any differential settlement over a former quarry landfill tip.
Tensar, the original inventors of geogrid technology, has spent six years perfecting the innovative triangular structure to achieve significantly improved aggregate confinement and soil stabilisation properties compared to conventional square or rectangular bi-axial geogrids.
Independent trials show that TriAx geogrids create an even more efficient stabilised layer over a weak foundation soil to increase the load bearing capacity of that layer by 2.3 to 3 times, in comparison with an unreinforced layer of the same thickness.
Its superior performance in multi-directional stiffness and aggregate confinement also enables a reduction in granular layer thickness and the potential to achieve cost-in-use savings. For example, in trial sites where the use of biaxial georgrids saved 13% over conventional solutions, new TriAx™ was shown to save 20%, representing an additional 7% saving in overall construction costs. This equates to a saving of 98p per sq metre.
For more information about the new Tensar Triax grid contact your local burdens branch or our specialist Geotechnics division WTB Geotechnics on 0845 600 5505 or geotechnics@wtbgroup.com
