C A S E H I S T O R I E S

Secugrid and Combigrid

Marbella Hill, Spain project

mately 18 m across the site. A horizontal area of appro-

Retaining wall construction facilitates

site development in difficult terrain

ximately 9,000 m was created on two plateaus on

Background

Construction

Quality building sites near the coast in Marbella, Spain,

Construction of the near vertical (85) sloping walls

and the surrounding areas are becoming increasingly

began in the summer of 2002. The retaining walls were

scarce, forcing any new holiday resorts to gradually

constructed with 60 cm thick compacted soil layers

locate in the surrounding steep, mountainous areas. In

reinforced with Secugrid 80/20 R6 polyester geogrid.

these potential new development areas, the search is

Embedment lengths varied from 2.5 to 12 m. Secugrid

on for geotechnical solutions that allow constructing

200/40 R6 polyester geogrid was placed in areas where

building sites with a large horizontal area in this diffi-

extremely high forces were expected, and were located

cult terrain.

between the 60 cm layer spacing of the 80/20 R6

which the buildings would later be constructed.

Secugrid. The highest wall section is composed of 40

individual layers of geogrid all constructed utilising the
"wrap-around" method. A galvanised steel grid
formwork was used as a permanent formwork while
simultaneously providing the construction with an
even front face.
In the front wrap-around area, Secutex R 204 nonwoven geotextile was incorporated in the design to
prevent erosion of the compacted soil and to provide a
Fig. 1
Installation of
natural rock blocks
as facing for the
geogrid reinforced
soil structure

One such situation involved an investor who was see-

textured surface permitting the outer shell to be

king a geosynthetic solution to develop a steep, in-

planted with vegetation later on. A part of the wall was

clined site (slope inclination between 1:1.5 and 1:2

clad with natural stone blocks, resulting in a more

(H:V)) on which he wanted to build three large villas

interesting and aesthetically appealing landscaping

with swimming pools and tennis courts.

treatment.

Design

Summary

Following a meeting with NAUE in which a conceptual

The installation of around 50,000 m of geogrids and

design was presented to the investor and the architect,

approximately 10,000 m of geotextiles stabilised

the design firm of BBG, Bauberatung Geokunststoffe

around 40,000 m of backfill material. By using a

GmbH & Co. KG, Espelkamp, Germany, was commissio-

creative and innovative geosynthetic design solution

ned to develop detailed project specifications and dra-

utilizing geogrids for soil reinforcement, a hillside

wings for construction of a reinforced retaining wall.

unfit for building construction, was converted into

Based on calculations addressing the internal, external

over 9,000 m of buildable construction area.

and compound stability of the reinforced earth struc-

Utilization of these construction methods and geo-

tures, five walls were designed. This design would

synthetic reinforcement products also resulted in a

result in a maximum elevation difference of approxi-

significant increase in the value of the investors'

property.
Installed products
Secugrid 80/ 20 R6 45,125 m
Secugrid 200/ 40 R6 6,180 m
Secutex R 204 10,460 m
Reference: "Stabilisation of the New Real Estate in
Marbella, Spain, with geogrid reinforced structures,"
Eurogeo 2004

Bus-Station Melle-Wellingholzhausen, Germany

Use of Combigrid to reinforce a

soft bearing layer
Background
The roadway for the old bus station in Wellingholzhausen, Germany, needed to undergo repair in July
2003. The very weak roadway subsoil conditions were
undergoing significant settlement in several areas
due to the growing traffic loads. There was also
ineffective separation between the subsoil and the
Fig. 2
Base course
reinforcement for
large loads on
soils with poor bearing capacity

bearing layer that resulted in an intermixing of the

soils and a reduction in the strength of the bearing

This unique composite product consists of a polypro-

layer. Some form of subgrade improvement was

pylene geogrid with an integrated nonwoven polypro-

necessary to correct the situation.

pylene geotextile. The geogrid has a biaxial tensile

strength of 30 kN/m and a robust needle-punched
Secutex nonwoven geotextile integrated between
Pavement

Base course

the rigid, vibratory welded cross-laid reinforcing bars.

With this technology a strong composite product is
manufactured where all the necessary functions
separation, filtration and reinforcement are satisfied
with one material. This resulted in a cost effective
solution for the bus station roadway.

Soft
bearing
layer

Sand

Combigrid base
course reinforcement

The repairs were completed in 2003, with the reconstructed roadway at the bus terminal performing as
anticipated.

Proposed solution
The use of a needle-punched nonwoven geotextile
could provide the separation and prevent the inter-

Installed products
Combigrid 30/30 Q1 1,200 m

mixing of the soils. However, it would not prevent the

high settlements caused by heavy traffic loads. For this
reason the designer and owner decided to use a com-

Connection between Heidenau and Altenberg, Germany

posite product that would address all the design con-

Emergency repair of a washed out

railroad embankment

cerns: separation, filtration and reinforcement.

Fig. 3
Roll imprint on
reinforcing strap

Background
During the flood disaster in 2002 approximately 80 %
of the infrastructure in the valley "Mueglitztal" near
Dresden, Germany, was destroyed. Near Weesenstein, a
11 m high railway embankment in the area of an undercut slope was washed away by the flood over a distance of approximately 100 m leaving the rail line
unusable. As a result rail traffic on this line was
completely cut off.
Solution
After determining the required characteristics for this

To get the rail traffic running again in the shortest

application, Combigrid 30/30 Q1 was selected for use.

possible time, the German National Railways (DB

Fig. 4
Combigrid
installation

The installation damage reduction factor, RFID, must be

taken into account when calculating the geogrid Long
Term Design Strength (LTDS). For this project, this
reduction factor (1.1) was determined in a projectspecific field test carried out in accordance with EBGEO
by the Saxon Textile Research Institute.

Cover
material

Fig. 5
Railway
embankment
washed away
after a flood

Projekt-Bau GmbH, NL Sued-Ost) and the engineering

company EVP/GIV GmbH, NL Dresden, decided to repair
the area by installing a geogrid reinforced soil structure utilising a steel grid formwork as an outer facia.
The combination of a geosynthetic reinforcement and
covering material would ensure the slope and ground

Fill material
Secugrid soil
reinforcement

Steel front
facing element
with nonwoven
geotextile

stability. The steel wire mesh on the outer face

stabilises the slope surface with a separation/filter

Fig. 7 Cross section of Secugrid reinforced embankment

layer made of a nonwoven fabric to prevent the

surficial soils from eroding. The approximately 5 m

Approval of the recommended solution

high geogrid reinforced portion at the bottom of the

The Federal Railway Agency approved the reinforced

slope is constructed with an approximate. 60 face

construction subjected to rail traffic load as an

angle. The second phase of construction consisted of a

emergency repair as a temporary solution. Sometime

4 m high unreinforced embankment.

after repairs were completed and the rail line back in

operation, additional fill would be placed surrounding

Design

the reinforced slope to ensure the long term stability

The structural analysis for the reinforced slope was

of the embankment. The final structure could be

carried out based on the German recommendations for

approved as it was designed and built in accordance

geosynthetic reinforcements EBGEO, 1997. The product

with a flood protection plan for the Mueglitz River.

specified, Secugrid 120/40 R6, has the Federal

Repairs
The Secugrid reinforcement element was installed
using a spacing of 0.5 m between layers of geogrid
in accordance with the design. Within just a few
weeks, the whole reinforced earth structure was completed by a pool of 10 local construction companies
using simple, fast and cost-efficient construction
methods. The consulting firm GEPRO GmbH was
responsible for the inspection of the construction
documents and the final acceptance of the work. As a
result the flow of regular rail traffic was quickly
restored. The reinforced slope will remain and serve as
the permanent structure. Today, modern construction
Fig. 6
Repair as
Secugrid
reinforced
embankment

Railways Agency's certification. A well graded crushed

methods like these can provide quick, cost efficient

mix was specified as the cover material. Secugrid

and safe solutions to disaster repairs.

provides a highly efficient tensile reinforcement

element with minimal deformation of the embankment
during both installation and under a traffic loads.

Installed products
Secugrid 120/40 R6 7,600 m

Interstate A7 Fuessen, Germany

Floating foundation solves soft

subgrade conditions background

exhibits extremely efficient interlocking with the

selected fill material, effectively reinforcing the fill
material layer and
was an economical solution to this soft subgrade

During the construction of the new Interstate A7

dilemma.
Fig. 9
View over Secugrid
reinforced floating
foundation

in 2003, close to exit AS Fuessen, approximately

1.6 km of poor subgrade was discovered. Because of
right-of-way constraints it was necessary to build a
stable foundation for the new Interstate on this very
weak subsoil. The subsoil contained major areas of
weak peat, chalk and soft sediments in various
thicknesses. Due to several feet of weak subsoil conditions, the foundation soils needed to be stabilised to
minimise potential settlement.

Construction
This complicated cross-section required the coordination of all parties to make sure the construction was
completed in accordance with the design requirements.
The soft subgrade was first covered with the woven
geotextile and the protection nonwoven, then fill was
placed, and the layer of Secugrid installed under
pre-stressing. Then the Secugrid reinforcement was
covered with aggregate.
Fig. 8 Cover soil placement over Secugrid geogrid

Design

A minimum soil cover of approximately 30 cm was

The engineer selected a design using a floating foun-

required below any construction equipment to avoid

dation, which consisted of crushed materials from

any severe damage during installation, as determined

2 - 150 mm in size combined with geosynthetic rein-

in pre-tests.

forcement. The cross section of the floating foundation

was as follows:

The project was completed in a shorter time than

The bottom reinforcement layer of high tensile

anticipated and is performing as planned.

strength woven geotextile which was laid over

the entire base and sideslope areas and which

Installed products

was protected by a nonwoven geotextile Secutex

Secugrid 180/20 R6 120,000 m

301 GRK5.

Secutex 301 GRK 5 120,000 m

Installation and compaction of a 50 cm thick first

layer.
Installation of the main uniaxial reinforcing geogrid,
Secugrid 180/20 R6, installed under tension.
The final base course material, placed over the
Secugrid until final grade was achieved.
Selecting the polyester Secugrid as the main reinforcement for the floating foundation design was based
on test results that showed that Secugrid geogrid:
has excellent long-term creep behaviour,

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Products
Secugrid and Combigrid geogrids are the next generation of geogrids produced with state of the art manufacturing technology, unlike any other geogrid on the marketplace today. The reinforcement element is a highly
oriented polypropylene or polyester strap that is extruded and drawn to achieve high modulus and strength at low
elongations. This is combined with NAUE patented vibratory welding technology to provide a structurally sound and
stable geogrid.
Secugrid Q Geogrids
These biaxial geogrids have uniform, square-shaped grid
openings. With these geogrids the machine and cross direction extruded polypropylene straps exhibit uniform strengths
in each direction. The numbers in each of the product names
e.g. 30/30 for Secugrid 30/30 Q1 define machine and cross
machine direction ultimate strength values [kN/m]. Typical
applications of use are base reinforcement.
Secugrid R Geogrids
These geogrids have rectangular-shaped grid openings. As
a rule, machine and cross machine strength are not the
same. The numbers in each of the product names e.g.
200/40 for Secugrid 200/40 R6 define machine and cross
machine ultimate strength values [kN/m]. Typical applications of use are reinforced walls and slope stabilisation.

Combigrid Q Composite
The Combigrid series incorporate a needle-punched polypropylene or polyester Secutex nonwoven geotextile
separator that is placed firmly between the flat straps on
the manufacturing line during the production process.
Typical applications of use are soil reinforcement where
additionally soil filtration is needed.

NAUE GmbH & Co. KG

Gewerbestrasse 2
32339 Espelkamp-Fiestel Germany
Phone
+49 5743 41-0
Fax
+49 5743 41-240
E-Mail
info@naue.com
Internet www.naue.com

, Combigrid, Secugrid and Secutex are registered trademarks of NAUE GmbH & Co. KG.
The information contained herein is the best to our knowledge, true and accurate. There is no implied or expressed warranty.
2009 by NAUE GmbH & Co. KG, Espelkamp-Fiestel, Germany All rights reserved. No. 80 Status 07/2009