HydraCX™ was applied to 125,000m2 of poor, erosion prone soil at a large landfill site in Ebbw Vale, South Wales. HydraCX is a hydraulically applied erosion control product that protects slopes against soil and seed loss from heavy rain and wind from day one of application.
Salix were tasked with greening up a 45 degree slope consisting of 6F2 fill. The initial design was a covering of 150mm of topsoil over an area of about 8,000m2 using a geocell product attached to the surface of the slope to contain the soil and prevent it from slipping.
Salix applied HydraCX in September 2009 to slopes consisting of 6I/J fill material with no imported topsoil covering the surface. The project was monitored each year to see how the vegetation established.
A series of potentially dangerous deep seated failures on a railway embankment required treatment to prevent further slips. The geotechnical issues of ground stability were resolved using soil nailing.
HydraCX was sprayed onto 5,500m2 of re graded rail embankments to prevent erosion and establish vegetation rapidly without importing expensive topsoil. HydraCX also replaces erosion control geotextiles.
A rail embankment had slipped and was reinstated with soil nails providing geotechnical stability. Birse created working platforms with imported stone and then used a soil cell system to retain about 150mm depth of soil on slopes up to 43 degrees.
The finished slope was 36 degrees, 40 metres in height and 60m wide. 250mm depth of topsoil was required, rather than the nominal 50-75mm, as cover for marginally contaminated on site fill material.
Understand how bioengineering solutions are used to create habitat, prevent scour and soil erosion on slopes, spillways, riverbanks, lakes and drainage channels
Learn how bioengineering solutions perform in comparison to hard revetment