Wall and slope reinforcement via drainage – some practical examples and benefits

¹ Vice-Chair for Hydraulics Structures and Transportation Infrastructures (TC-H), International Geosynthetics Society (IGS)
² Chief Engineer, ABG Geosynthetics Ltd, E7, Meltham Mills Road, Meltham, West Yorkshire, UK E-mail. david.shercliff@abgltd.com, web page: https://www.abg-geosynthetics.com/

Abstract

Geotechnical wall and slope drainage plays a critical role in ensuring slope stability and the mitigation of surface water runoff and/or ground water based failure events. This applies from simple vertical buried concrete structures, steep reinforced soil slopes through to shallow embankment slopes. A study in the UK has revealed that 74% of geotechnical failures on road and rail networks are linked to drainage issues being the root cause. This is replicated across the infrastructure network making drainage issues the single most significant cause of network disruption with high financial costs in economic losses and repair. (Moores, 2023) This presentation will show practical examples of the use of geocomposite drainage in various structures to improve stability, accelerate consolidation illustrating the very large environmental, safety and cost benefits over traditional mineral based solutions.