Soil reinforcement with

Secugrid geogrids

Case studies

The ideal geosynthetic reinforcement

Installation of
the frost protection layer onto
Secugrid.

Secugrid is a laid geogrid made of extruded monolithic flat

bars with welded junctions for soil reinforcement in earth,
landfill and road construction as well as in hydraulic engineering applications. Secugrid is the ideal geosynthetic reinforcement for
- base courses in conventional road engineering
- temporary construction roads
- base courses or subgrades in railway engineering
- park, industrial and storage areas
- container terminals
- areas prone to subsidence
- dam foundations on soft subsoils

- 30 cm frost protection layer

- steep earth slopes and retaining structures

- geogrid reinforcement

- soil layers on membrane covered slopes

Secugrid reinforcement was placed onto the profiled sub-

- trench covers and beds.

soil and covered with 15 cm of the frost protection layer. The

Secugrid excels by

Secugrid was then folded back at the edges for 50 cm (con-

high strength and low elongation due to extruded ele-

forming with the specification) and covered with the remai-

ments
robustness due to monolithic flat bars

ning 15 cm of the frost protection material.

During removal of the former road structure, the tires of the

interlocking due to junction stiffness

excavator caused heavy rutting (to a depth of 10 cm) in the

a broad product range offering the versatility of biaxial and

weak sub-soil present on site. These deformations were very

uniaxial geogrids (Q and R products)

low due the good dry weather conditions. Secugrid geogrids

highly competitive prices

60/60 Q6 were cut to the necessary enveloping length and

The following three case studies represent the numerous fields

installed directly on the profiled subsoil. Then the 15 cm thick

of application:

frost protection layer was installed. On this uncompacted

layer there were only imprints and compactions up to max. 2

Significantly
lower rutting on
the uncompacted frost
protection layer
due to the use
of Secugrid.

Improvement of Bearing Capacity

cm in the area of lorry traffic, driving on the 15 cm thick frost

The existing road from Tessin to Wesselstorf (near Rostock in

protection layer. The Secugrid geogrid lying over the edges

North East Germany) had to be rebuilt due to subsidence.

was turned back on both sides 50 cm onto the frost protec-

Since the subsoil consisted of peat and sand, the required

tion layer and covered with additional 15 cm of the same

bearing capacity was not achieved in load plate bearing tests.

material. After installation of the frost protection layer an EV2

Therefore, an EV2 value of the formation of approx. 5 MN/m

value of 80 to 90 MN/m could be achieved by installing

was assumed as a basis for the dimensioning. The owner de-

Secugrid 60/60 Q6. After filling and compaction of the base

cided upon a road structure with a total thickness of 60 cm

course of crushed stone, the required EV2 values of 120 MN/m

reinforced with geogrids (from top to bottom):

were significantly exceeded.

- 10 cm asphalt overlay
- 20 cm base course with crushed stone

Protection against base failure

The Road Construction Agency Aurich in North West Germany
is currently extending the existing city highway by adding two
lanes to the Federal Motorway A 31. Following completion of
the first section in 1999, work begun on the next phase of
works, however, the route of this section of motorway leads
over soft soil layers which have a low bearing capacity up to
7 m below the road. It is especially interesting that this new
route leads over ground which has been previously compacted
(former city highway) as well as uncompacted ground. The
Federal Agency for Road Engineering (bast) was involved in
assessing the subsoil conditions and earth construction measures for the West bypass motorway Emden (A1). The bast
thoroughly tested and examined the feasibility of three possibilities of extension to overcome the soft soil conditions:

1. construction of a bridge

Slope reinforcement

2. construction of a heavily reinforced road using geogrids

When a 10 m high noise barrier at the motorway A 12 from

3. a full soil exchange under protection with sheet piling.

Utrecht to The Hague was being designed, stability calculations showed that the requested slope inclinations were too
steep. The stability of the system could not be ensured without additional reinforcement measures. The consulting company Enviro recommended the combination of the following
measures in order to protect the whole system:
- reduction of the cover layer from 2.00 to 1.50 m
- flattening of the slope inclination on the road side from
1(V) : 1.5(W) to 1 : 2

Installation of
the pre-load
dam onto
Secugrid.

- installation of a reinforcement geogrid with a strength of

120 kN/m in the longitudinal direction.
In order to minimise the dangers to the houses which are
directly adjacent to the route, a bridge was first taken into
consideration. After the investigations of the bast which also
included the assessment of the costs, the owner decided upon
a reinforced road construction which showed cost savings of
approximately 5 mio. DM compared to a bridge. Due to the
stability calculations, a geosynthetic with a short-term tensile strength of 400 kN/m was required to prevent base failure.
The Road Construction Agency Aurich and the bast supported
Installation of
Secugrid with a
spreader bar.

the use of Secugrid 400/60 R6 geogrids with a strength of

400 kN/m in longitudinal and 60 kN/m in transverse direction
for in-situ tests. In order to determine the consolidation and

The slope inclination on the side of the houses did not

deformation behaviour, the bast is currently conducting geo-

need to be reduced because later it was to be filled up with

technical measurements.

soil up to 1:5. Due to its manufacturing width of 4.75 m, the

selected geogrid Secugrid 120/40 R6 could be installed
quickly and easily on the previously installed sealing system
consisting of a Bentofix geosynthetic clay liner, Carbofol
geomembrane and Secutex protection nonwoven. In order to
take the forces directed down the slope, the geogrid was
embedded into the filll crest. By using polyester/PET resins
for the production of Secugrid, a low creep factor could be
taken in consideration for the calculation. As a result a shortterm tensile strength for Secugrid of 120 kN/m was accepted. Furthermore, an optimum interlocking with the soil was

Installation of
the elongation
measuring
device.

achieved by the robust monolithic flat bars and the strong

junctions. The first construction section (600 m length) has
In order to gain suitable soil stability, the highway route
over the soft ground requires both compaction and consolidation treatment. This is to be done by placing an overburden
soil layer of approximately 4 m in height on the Secugrid
400/60 R 6 until the required settlement is achieved (vertical
drains are additionally installed to accelerate this process).
The overburden soil will then be lowered to a height of approximately 2.5 m and the road will be constructed on top of this
base. Since mid September 1999 the overburden soil layer has
been placed to a height of 2.00 m. Final results of the elongation, consolidation and deformation behaviour will be possible only after a longer period of loading. The deformation
measuring devices already show the expected activation.

already been finalised, the second section (900 m length) is

planned for spring 2000.
View over the
noise barrier
with the geogrid
Secugrid
120/40 R6 in
the foreground.

Secugrid Product Range

Secugrid Q-Familiy (biaxial):
Type

Tensile strength
(kN/m)

Resin

Dimensions

Secugrid 30/30 Q1
Secugrid 40/40 Q1
Secugrid 60/60 Q1

30/30
40/40
60/60

Polypropylene/PP
Polypropylene/PP
Polypropylene/PP

4,75 m x100 m
4,75 m x100 m
4,75 m x100 m

Secugrid 80/80 Q1

80/80

Polypropylene/PP

4,75 m x100 m

Combigrid 30/30 Q1 / 151 GRK 3:

Combigrid 60/60 Q1 / 251 GRK 4:

4,75 m x50 m
4,75 m x50 m

Combigrid: Composite of a Secugrid geogrid 30/30 Q1 or 60/60 Q1 connected

with a Secutex separation and filtration nonwoven from the Geotextil-RobustheitsKlasse 3 oder 4.

Secugrid R-Family (uniaxial):

Type

Secugrid
Secugrid
Secugrid
Secugrid

120/
200/
400/
600/

40
40
40
60

R6
R6
R6
R6

Tensile Strength Resin

(kN/m)

Dimensions

120/ 40
200/ 40
400/ 40
600/ 60

4,75
4,75
4,75
4,75

Polyester/PET
Polyester/PET
Polyester/PET
Polyester/PET

m
m
m
m

x100 m
x100 m
x50 m
x50 m

2002 by Naue Fasertechnik GmbH & Co. KG, Lbbecke, Germany All Rights reserved. No. 45 Status 02/02.
The information contained herein is the best to our knowledge, true and accurate. There is no implied or expressed warranty.

Naue Fasertechnik GmbH & Co. KG

Wartturmstrae 1 32312 Lbbecke
Telefon 0 57 41 / 40 08 - 0
Telefax 0 57 41 / 40 08 - 40
e-mail: info@naue.com
Internet: www.naue.com