Reinforced Soil Walls and Slope Reinforcement
2001
PHOKENG - NORTH WEST PROVINCE - South Africa
ROYAL BAFOKENG ADMINISTRATION
KALODE CONSTRUCTION
FOUNDATION & SLOPE STABILITY ENGINEERS
BAFOKENG CIVIC CENTRE MACWALL
During construction
After construction
Problem
u003cpu003eThe design and layout of the walkway along the Royal Bafokeng civic centre necessitated the construction of a versatile retaining wall system due to the positioning of the building by the architect.u0026nbsp;u0026nbsp;Construction of the wall system entailed almost vertical segmental block walls varying in height from 1m to 4m, intricate curves and corners, as well as a 4m high freestanding wall enclosing the sump area which would house the civic centre’s water-pumping system.u0026nbsp;Furthermore, the segmental block wall had to safely support the design loads and simultaneously enhance the aesthetic appeal of the landscaped surroundings.u003c/pu003e
Solution
u003cpu003eIn keeping with their tradition of providing innovative, engineered solutions, Maccaferri Africa/African Gabions proposed the use of the MacWall Compac System to address the design and construction complexities inherent in the project.u0026nbsp;Extensive stability checks of various cross-sections were carried out by the Maccaferri Africa /African Gabions technical team using in-house design software.u0026nbsp;u0026nbsp;u0026nbsp;The final design solution consisted of a combination of MacWall Compac units and geogrid reinforcement of varying lengths based on the height of the structure.u0026nbsp;Through detailed computational analysis, the length of reinforcement was optimized to accommodate space and economic restrictions.u0026nbsp;For the 4m high, 7m long freestanding section of wall, a more involved approach was adopted.u0026nbsp;Since the sump area was located immediately behind the MacWall, the use of geogrids was not feasible.u0026nbsp;Instead, the units were designed with vertical steel reinforcing bars placed through them and keyed into a concrete leveling slab.u0026nbsp;A single skin brick wall was constructed behind the MacWall and bonded together with 25MPa low slump concrete.u0026nbsp;The steel rebar within the MacWall units was anchored to the reinforcement within the brick wall with steel ties at regular intervals.u003c/pu003e
Used Products
