Reinforced land intervention with Viresco® Sator

A case of a construction site in South Tyrol

The basic principles of reinforced land are lost in the passing of time, but it was with Henry Vidal in 1960 that these principles became an established and universally appreciated engineering technique.

Several advantages have in fact been highlighted in the use of reinforced and fortified soil: robustness of the works, excellent response to seismic activity, reduction of land use, possibility of recovering demolition material, simplicity of execution and speed of execution.

However, the element that has made this technique successful is the landscape improvement that can be achieved.

In fact, with the possibility of greening the frontside of the work, which was once condemned to the use of unsightly and non-functional concrete, splendid aesthetic and environmental results can be achieved.

Virens applications

A milestone in relation to the greening of reinforced soil has been the use of Viresco® as a retentor of fine soil particles and a tool for seeding and rooting vegetation.

The experience illustrated here testifies to its use on a site with very difficult and, from an agronomic point of view, almost prohibitive conditions.

In fact, due to slope, soil quality and light, the situation presented seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

In particular, this is one of the first experiences with the application of Viresco® in reinforced soil, more than 20 years ago.

The company, still uncertain about the effectiveness of the biofabric, initially applied it underneath jute netting as well, again underneath geogrids and formwork.

The result was truly incredible, so much so that in another area Viresco® was applied individually, again under geogrids and formwork (photo 4). 

The result was surprising for everyone except the Virens staff who recommended it: and here in the pictures is testimony to the excellent vegetation settlement and optimal control of fine soil particles in spite of the slope and difficulty in having the water reach an almost inaccessible surface.

The possibilities for use are numerous:

• Bridge abutments, viaducts, overpasses
• Retaining, subterranean and containment walls
• Hydraulic works (bank protection, weirs, dykes, embankments, etc.)
• Slope and hillside stabilisation, rockfall and avalanche barriers)
• Restoration of quarries
• Landfills
• Storage silos
• Noise barriers