Retaining wall is an important structure of any infrastructure generally used to restrain soil. These are often used in terrain possessing undesirable slopes or in areas where the landscape needs to be shaped severely and engineered for more specific purposes like hillside farming or roadway overpasses. Retaining walls can be of concrete, brick/stone masonry, or even timber based on the material used. These can be a gravity wall, RCC cantilever, counterfort, and buttresses retaining wall depending upon the resistance to the load coming on it. Modern retaining walls like anchor wall, reinforced soil or nailed wall, and Gabion wall are also popular in recent construction scenario. A Gabion wall is a gravity wall having advantageous points such as easy drainage, cheaper, flexible (differential settlement can be tolerated), speedy work, use of local materials etc. Gabion retaining wall is a very effective type of retaining structure, especially in a mountainous region and rainy weather due to its flexibility, permeability, and ease of construction.
The primary purpose of
gabion retaining wall is to provide lateral movement of soil or rock in order
to control the active earth pressure and also resist the transverse load in
case of gravity retaining wall which are settled and stabilized by their
weight. Gabion retaining walls are designed to hold back soil for many
purposes, including reducing soil erosion, making sloped areas more functional
and improving drainage. Gabion retaining walls can also be used for decorative
purposes in home landscaping.
Gabion retaining walls are
constructed using gabion baskets that are placed upon each other and tied
securely in order to form monolithic massive wall structure. Gabions are
wire-stone element in the shape of hexagonal or cuboids made of wire mesh with
double or triple twisting, filled with local boulders or quarry stone.
Retaining walls made of concrete or brick will not be permeable as water will
not be able to pass through the wall. Also efficient drainage is essential for
retaining walls. This makes gabion baskets the ideal material to build
retaining walls as gabions are highly permeable and are not vulnerable to
drainage issues. Not only do gabion baskets create permeable retaining walls
that prevent soil erosion but can also create low-maintenance decorative
features that will enhance the look of any landscape. These can be built with
local gabion stones to seamlessly fit in with their surroundings. Plus, gabion
cages are also sympathetic to nature, allowing vegetation to grow through the
baskets.