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CONTECH Bin-Walls are primarily used to: - Gain right-of-way on highway and railroad projects by either supporting part of the road or holding back an encroaching slope
- Create usable, flat areas on municipal, industrial, and commercial sites that otherwise would be wasted slopes
- Protect against shore or bank erosion
- Build breakwaters to protect dock areas from wave action
- Enlarge grade-separated highway or railway rights-of-way
- Prevent erosion under bridge abutments
- Provide wingwalls on bridge abutments
- Create blast walls for protection at military and industrial sites
Designing CONTECH Bin-Walls
The
CONTECH Bin-Wall system is a gravity-retaining wall in which an earth
mass inside the bins acts as a gravity wall with the steel members
holding the earth mass intact. These two components combine to resist
soil and other superimposed loads. This design requires adequate
support for the wall under the earth mass. On rigid foundations,
provision must be made for slight settlement of the vertical connector
members. Normal practice is to provide a compressible cushion
under the base plates with approximately eight inches of loose fill.
Individual walls should be designed for stability according to
established criteria for gravity walls, available from numerous
published documents on the subject of gravity retaining wall design. While not a substitute for specific site design, Charts A and B may be used to estimate depth-to-height ratios for gravity walls under loading conditions listed in Table 1. This
information, based on broad experience, is provided as a guideline
only. Foundation adequacy is a critical factor in wall design.
Ensuring the foundation’s resistance to the overturning and sliding
forces acting on the wall requires sophisticated engineering
evaluation. Proper site investigations and analyses should be performed
for any retaining wall installation. Installations
Small,
unskilled crews can quickly erect a CONTECH Bin-Wall with ordinary
contractors’ equipment. There is no formwork to build, no curing
delays, and no follow-up operations. Assembling the various parts is a
simple matter. All CONTECH Bin-Walls, regardless of height, are made of
simple bins having a uniform basic panel length of 10' and varying
depth. Heavier gauge stringers are used at the bottom of the wall as
the height increases. Spacers are the same gauge for the entire height
of transverse sections. Individual parts making up a CONTECH Bin-Wall
are light in weight for easy handling and can be conveniently nested to
save space in shipment or at the job site. Less Excavation
By
trenching into existing ground that has adequate bearing capacity for
the completed wall loads, the earth below the normal ground line need
never be disturbed. However, trench widths and depths must be
such that placing and thorough compaction of backfill can be
accomplished. All-bolted Assembly
A structural wrench
is the only essential tool needed to erect a CONTECH Bin-Wall. Of
course, power wrenches, hoisting equipment, and other construction
equipment and tools are desirable. Generally, a CONTECH Bin-Wall,
particularly a smaller one, is erected “in place.” However, on larger
projects, or where unusual working conditions are encountered, it is
frequently advantageous to preassemble transverse or panel sections,
partially or completely. Simple horizontal supports (such as sawhorses)
and power equipment will speed assembly of this major wall
element. Ordinarily, available lifting equipment can handle large
transverse sections. More information (PDF) on CONTECH Bin-Wall
Where to buy
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