Easy and Efficient Restoration Method for Steep Slope Collapse

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Slope Rehabilitation Using ACEMat^TM R for the Service Road
around Power Plant

The construction of a small hydropower plant in Taiwan lasted five years, during which the slope collapsed and the service road was interrupted by typhoons or heavy rainfalls for several times, leading to the serious delay in construction schedule.

The geological distribution at the site is mainly Lushan formation, which is mostly composed of black to dark gray hard shale, slate, and interbedded phyllite and dark gray hard sandstone. Due to strong developed cleavage, the strength of rock mass is totally controlled by cleavage, leading to steep terrains with highly decomposed and weathered exposed rock in some areas. During the construction, the site had been attacked by a series of typhoons and heavy rains, the most serious of which was Sinlaku Typhoon. Because of the high fragmentation and the poor stability of many slopes along the road, several serious collapses occurred, resulting in the only road connecting outside of the site being washed away.

Considering the difficult geological conditions at the site and the construction costs of materials and equipment, as well as the needs of aesthetic and ecological protections in mountainous areas, the slope restoration in this case excludes the traditional shotcrete slope protection method. All the damaged slopes were determined to use geosynthetic ACEMat^TM R for rehabilitations. The construction of ACEMat^TM R at the site was easy. It was fixed at the surface of the slope by using anchoring nails. In addition, horizontal and longitudinal drainage ditches were installed to facilitate the discharge of rainwater or runoff on the slope.  Based on such arrangement, the resistance to erosion and the stability of the slope have been greatly improved. ACEMat^TM R is flexible and adaptable to the changeable terrain. It can be intimately attached to the slope surface for better surface protection and planting productivity. The lightweight product also helps to reduce the difficulty of construction.

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New Video

Why Choose ACEMat™ R High-Performance Turf Reinforcement Mat to Control Erosion?

In the video, we test the soil retention rate after watering to improve the anti-erosion performance with ACEMat™ R and without it. It is obvious that using ACEMat™ R covers the vegetation which effectively avoids soil loss (reduced by 85%) more than not. Compared to conventional methods such as shotcrete or other hard armor protection, ACEMat™ R can decelerate and filter runoff water, cost less, and most importantly, be “Green”.
 
ACEMat™ R High-Performance Turf Reinforcement Mats (HPTRMs) are made of dark green polypropylene monofilament. It is woven together to form firm and flexible mesh structures with continuous filament, stable, homogenous, and high-thickness three-dimensional woven structure. The design enables interlocking with soil to solid, protects the soil surface from erosion, and retains seeds and plants; it also provides very high tensile strength. Therefore, ACEMat™ R offers effective and efficient solutions for severe erosion control problems in steep slopes, barren areas, riverbanks, channels, and heavy rainfall areas.
 
The tensile strength of ACEMat™ R HPTRMs can be up to 60kN/m. For superior performance, they can be installed with anchors such as soil nails. Moreover, ACEMat™ R has outstanding resistance to abrasion, ultraviolet, oxidation, acid, alkali, and bio-decomposition to ensure its long-lasting performance.