Overview

EKG Geochemical Soil Improvement

Environmental Sustainability

EKG Slope Stabilisation System

Adaptable | Cost-Effective | Minimal Disruption

The EKG (electrokinetic geosynthetics) Slope Stabilisation System has been used to stabilise failed and failing slopes in a variety of settings. It works by combining the remedial actions of soil strengthening, reinforcement and drainage, and is based around the design code for soil nailing.

The improvement in soil characteristics together with the intrinsic drainage permit the EKG Slope Stabilisation System to be used in situations where conventional soil nailing would be inappropriate and alternative heavier techniques including slope slackening or sheet or concrete piling may be considered.

The materials and methods are lightweight and as such the construction is low impact and offers benefits in terms of reducing costs and risks to health and safety avoiding environmental disruption and the requirement for traffic management.

Sloping ground inevitably results in the establishment of gravity-related shear forces. In a stable slope, the soil material is strong enough to resist these forces. Slopes fail, however, when the soil is unable to develop sufficient resistance.

This inability may be due to a combination of gradual weakening of the soil, poor drainage, over-steepening of the slope or an increase in required performance. The conditions leading to failure are very often spatially and temporally complex combinations of these effects.

Conventional slope remediation typically involves significant earthmoving, large plant, intensive work on the slope and a large environmental impact usually related to the removal of trees and vegetation.

The EKG Slope Stabilisation System minimises such impacts and reduces the associated costs of remedial works by combining several functions into the actions of a single set of elements. The system comprises an installation of multifunctional electrodes which deliver a combination of soil strength improvements, increased drainage and reinforcement. Together, strength improvements and drainage increase the available shear-resisting forces in the slope; additional stability is provided by the reinforcement. Owing to the action of strengthening and drainage the magnitude of the required contribution from reinforcement is significantly reduced compared to a conventional approach such as soil nailing.

Electrode multifunctionality has additional geotechnical implications in that strengthening is most effective in the weakest soils, drainage is most beneficial in the wettest soils and load transferral most pronounced where strain has developed. In this way the system is partially self-organising and adapts optimally to local ground conditions thus minimising time and cost.

The implications of electrode multifunctionality for construction are that the construction process is characterised by very low logistical and environmental impacts, reduced construction workforce and reduced exposure to health and safety risks associated with the movement of large plant and lifting equipment.

Further information