Lightweight Flowable Fill
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What is Lightweight Flowable Fill?
Mines, sink holes and tunnel abandonment:
In certain parts of the country, suburbs may be built on top of abandoned mine shafts and tunnels deep below ground. Over time these can become unstable and collapse, causing damage to property above. They may also be difficult or unsafe to access, hindering supply and adequate compaction using conventional methods of fill placement. In these instances, R-Geo flowable fill is a more appropriate option, offering rapid placement of self-compacting LCC that can be pumped long distances; in the process securing the properties above.
Slope stabilisation:
Unstable slopes require treatment to prevent slope failure and erosion. Utilising mass weight solutions like gabion baskets with rocks can further complicate issues, due to their heavy weight. The use of R-Geo LCC reduces loading on unstable slopes, thereby minimising further instability in landslip or high erosion area.
Being able to be pumped several hundred metres and requiring no compaction or vibration during placement allows treatment of locations with restricted machinery access.
Seawalls and Marine Applications:
Cellular concrete can be either highly permeable or non-permeable.
Where there are large voids behind existing or proposed seawalls, R-Geo can be utilised as a backfill. Its flowable properties will ensure it fills all voids, and the permeability option will ensure any water ingress behind seawalls will drain out.
There are also underwater applications of R-Geo Aqua. It offers a low permeability and is specifically formulated for marine and water applications. It can be used to encapsulate below water structures like timber piles in piers or docks that are attacked by organisms or suffer damage through constant wave action.
What are the applications of Lightweight Fill?
Cellular concrete is used to reduce settlement of underlying soft soils and/or reduce loads on structures or slopes. This includes utilising cellular concrete as:
• Retaining wall and basement backfill:
Most retaining walls are designed for 5kPa of surcharge, limiting any soil backfill compaction with heavy machinery. This leads to continual soil consolidation based on depth of retaining wall fill. Any structures placed on poorly compacted backfill will likely drop due to consolidation.
Additionally, high retaining walls require large member sizes and deep foundations due to overturning forces.
Our solution to traditional backfill, is the placement of our R-Geo lightweight cellular concrete fill. Once our LCC sets, it doesn’t apply any lateral loads to retaining walls, significantly reducing retaining wall embedment, and retaining wall sizes. Additionally, it has 0.3% creep and is self-compacting, ensuring no long-term consolidation and subsidence in the R-Geo fill placed behind the retaining wall.
An added benefit is that it can be made permeable, ensuring retaining wall drainages are effectively utilised.
• Bridge Approach Ramp, Roads and Runway Fill:
Where poor soil conditions exist, requiring excavation to stiff, well compacted soils or a grade increase for a bridge approach is necessary, the area needs to be built up to the appropriate grade. Current industry practice is to place well compacted fill to replace loose and inadequate soils and to build up the required grade. This process requires design specified fill with strict moisture limits and material conformity. The need for constant rolling to preload successive layers is time consuming, weather dependant and involves large, dedicated staging area, generally requiring heavy transport. After all of this, poor quality control and maintenance can lead to subsidence.
The alternative to this is R-Geo lightweight cellular concrete fill. Offering a self-compacting material with less than 0.3% creep and compressive strengths ranging from 300kpa to 7Mpa, it can be batched on site, with one concrete truck capable of delivering the equivalent of up to 10 trucks of traditional backfill. R-Geo can be pumped large distances (more than 200 metres), further reducing truck traffic to the work-site and avoiding delays due to traffic management. This combined with the potential to use multiple batching plants can allow production to be ramped up as required to meet deadlines.
The RGEO Advantage
Unrivalled Experience
We have a team of qualified structural engineers, geologists, project managers, supervisors and technicians with highest level of expertise and training.
Cutting-Edge Technology
We invest in the latest technology, equipment and materials, constantly reviewing latest developments from around the world
Quality Assurance
Our commitment is backed by internal quality assurance systems and processes
Time Efficiency
Lightweight cellular concrete ensures rapid placement, is self compacting and can be pumped long distances; accelerating construction schedules
Affordable Solutions
We ensure the solutions provided are affordable and competitive when compared to other similar companies
Environmentally Conscious
Low carbon footprint using less raw materials, reduced site traffic and excellent thermal insulation properties