RETAINING WALL DEVELOPMENT | MANCHESTER

LECA® Lightweight Fill was specified for a retaining wall development in Manchester. The engineering purpose of this new development was to provide robust support for a new retaining wall, reducing vertical pressure in the area, whilst providing an effective water management system - to safely manage water runoff and act as a flood prevention solution.

Due to LECA® Lightweight Fill having the ability to delay water runoff by a principle known as water detention. Proper detention provides a steady and manageable flow of water and reduces the risk of flooding, because of LECA® Lightweight Fill's highly porous internal structure and an abundance of voids between the grains – applying the material will help detain a flow and thereby reduce the peak intensity of runoff from an area. Thus, the developers through specifying LECA® Lightweight Fill found a suitable solution to diminish the intensity of water from severe storms and moderate loads through slow release of water during and after a serious downpour.

Based on the steep embankment within this residential area in Manchester, it was crucial for the developers to ensure that the fill material within the retaining wall acted as a robust mechanism to prevent any future risk of landslide.

FACTS

Amount of material: 48m3 of LECA ®LWA (10-20mm)

Interesting Fact: This project was developed to provide robust support for a new retaining wall, reducing vertical pressure in the area, whilst providing an effective water management system

Main Contractor: GRAHAM Construction

Steep Embankment

Furthermore, due to the delicate steep embankment and residential area, alternative material was deemed unsuitable due to access restrictions. Through using LECA® Lightweight Fill, the engineers were given the opportunity to pneumatically deliver the material over a distance up to 50m through a piping system with a 5” hose at a rate of 1m3 per minute - fed through the LECA pneumatic delivery truck (See image above).

However, the biggest advantage of the pneumatic delivery was the time saving, as the LECA® Lightweight Fill was delivered specifically in place where required, with reduced man power.