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National Trust car park construction calls for Tensar’s TriAx technology

Product News Thursday, March 26, 2015: Tensar International

Extremely soft ground conditions discovered during the construction of a new car park at a National Trust beauty spot have been overcome with a TriAx® mechanically stabilised layer from Tensar International.

Construction of the new car park at Gibside Estate near Newcastle-upon-Tyne was underway when the project team discovered weak formation soils with CBR values as low as 0.4%, , and called on the advice of Tensar International, a global leader in soil-reinforcement and ground stabilisation technology.

Working swiftly with Contractors Owen Pugh and Consulting Engineers Patrick Parsons Limited, Tensar’s specialists devised a Tensar MSLTM (mechanically stabilised layer) incorporating TriAx® geogrid which not only enabled construction to continue without delay, but also generated a 10% cost saving on the original construction depths envisaged.

Tensar’s solution used a locally sourced recycled well graded granular fill along with layers of Tensar TriAx geogrid to stabilise the aggregate, providing safe and stable access over the soft ground for construction vehicles.

Craig Roberts, Area Civil Engineer at Tensar, says: “The Gibside Estate project is a great example of the time and cost benefits our engineers can bring to a ground stabilisation project - even when works have commenced. In addition to helping the project team keep to their construction programme by providing a fast, safe and stable platform, we were also able to significantly reduce the amount of additional excavation required and minimise the amount of imported stone required”.

TriAx geogrids stabilise well graded granular fill as defined by the recently awarded European Technical Approval (ETA) as part of the Construction Products Regulations. The ETA defines the stabilisation function as distinct from the reinforcement function of geosynthetics with Tensar TriAx geogrids working to interlock with and confine the granular particles, which significantly improves the properties and performance of the resulting Tensar MSL.

Ben Johnson, Site Agent for Owen Pugh, said: “Tensar’s engineers worked fast to provide us with a suitable solution which helped us to reduce the cost of imported materials while increasing the stability of the car parking construction which ensured we arrived at the most effective solution for the National Trust.”

For more information on Tensar’s ground stabilisation products, including TriAx, visit http://www.tensar.co.uk/Systems-Products/TriAx-geogrids-TX/TriAx-TX-geogrids