It is made by extruding, weaving, or welding a polymer into open aperture materials with varying pressure, strain, and load carrying capacity for soil reinforcement applications. In most cases, geogrids have primary strength in just one direction (uniaxial geogrids), but in some cases, the strength of the substance can be equal in both directions(biaxial geogrids). Geogrids interlock with the granular or soil material that is put on top of them. The geogrid’s open apertures allow the material inside to be contained, increasing the shear strength of such materials.
What are the types of Geogrids?
Geogrid can be used in the soil reinforcement or used in the reinforcement of retaining walls and even many applications of the material are on its way to being flourished.
Biaxial Geogrid
The aim of using base reinforcement in pavements is to improve the bearing ability of an existing sub-grade by incorporating one or more geogrid layers above it. The use of a biaxial geogrid allows for a decrease in the thickness of the granular base course.
In certain cases, it might be necessary to provide a geogrid for a defined pavement depth in order to extend the pavement’s service life.
Uniaxial Geogrid
Uniaxial (UX) Geogrids are made from highly oriented high-density polyethylene (HDPE) resins that are designed to resist elongation (creep) when exposed to heavy loads for extended periods of time. These geogrids are also immune to installation damage as well as chemical and biological degradation over time. HDPE resins can be designed for use with a variety of backfill materials, including on-site soils and recycled concrete, due to their inert properties.
Asphalt Geogrid
Vehicle traffic loading on asphalt and concrete pavements, combined with temperature fluctuations, results in increased stress/strain on the pavement, causing reflective cracking to grow and spread. Asphalt geogrids are used in the construction and reconstruction of road pavements that are exposed to thermal, fatigue, and reflective cracking. Their primary purpose is to minimize the amount of cracking in the new asphalt layer (s). A barrier to top-down water ingress to the subbase and/or subgrade may also be mounted.
Applications
Biaxial geogrids are designed to interlock with soil and aggregate and are ideal for applications such as:
- Base and subgrade reinforcement
- Construction of unpaved and paved roads
Uniaxial geogrids are designed to provide long term design strength and are ideal for applications such as:
- Reinforced slopes
- Embankments