REINFORCED SOIL  WALLS- DIRECTED FRAGILITY SYSTEM

The DIRECTED FRAGILITY system applied to reinforced soil retaining walls and bridge abutments provides clear improvements to these types of construction. The advantages of which are:

• Quality of the finished work.

• Easy, safe and quick assembly (up to three times faster than others).

• Working of the structure. Flexibility and monolithism at the same time.

• Very important construction costs economy. High construction yield, due to the quickness of the system and the absence of reciprocal waiting between the earth moving and assembly teams.

• Description

The DIRECTED FRAGILITY system incorporates panels of different sizes, some of which may reach large dimensions and many times attain the total height of the construction. As a basic peculiarity it arranges preferred rupture lines and their degree of fragility to ensure optimisation of the behavior of each construction project and its placing and mounting possibilities. These lines show a modulation, and each module is an independent structural unit, which can be separated from the adjacent units to provide the resistance foreseen in the project, should the stressing and deformation the facing is subject to so require.

PREFERRED RUPTURE LINED PANEL (PRLP)

The preferent fracture lines are composed of deep clefts pinching the section of the plate at the bottom of which cracks may appear without being detected from the outside.

The modules are equipped with the retainer elements needed for the bracings of the reinforced soil fill, as well as to assist in the mounting and function of the assembly between panels.

• Advantages

The DIRECTED FRAGILITY system applied to reinforced soil retaining walls and bridge abutments shows the following advantages:

a) A PERFECT FLATNESS and ASSEMBLY in the entire height of the components is ensured thanks to various modules adapted and aligned in one piece (Preferred Rupture Lined Panels). This is also guaranteed by the assembly equipment in the plates themselves.



b) The CORRECT LOCATION of the important lower strip of the construction (PRLP)ensures and serves as a perfect base for the installation of the rest of the components for/until cresting, providing them with a perfect guide.



c) The whole equipment, the perfect DESIGN of the system and precise fabrication makes it difficult to differentiate, at first view, the real joints (between the different components) from the apparent joints (preferent fracture lines).



d) The MONOLITHISM, within the FLEXIBILITY, provided by the DIRECTED FRAGILITY system ensures better integrity of the entire assembly and an obvious defense against external actions, like water, in the case of the floodable constructions or harsh seismic conditions, very low quality foundation soil, etc..



e) The EFFORTLESS SPEED (up to three times faster than others) and the NEATNESS at the moment of the installation is an important differentiating fact which allows for reduction of the building's periods and the time of exposure to possible adverse atmospheric factors which may prejudice the progress and the efficiency of the construction in many other cases.



f) The ECONOMY in the cost is also evident, since besides the swiftness and high performance, there are no interferences or delays between the mounting and the earth move teams, as they work in different stages (when the earth is placed, a large part of the facing is already in place.)

E-mail: directedfragility@directedfragility.com