The Tensar Corporation

Robert M Mattox

Multiple sections of grid-like sheet material extend centrally through a thickness of a plurality of staggered rows of concrete panels to form a geomattress of unlimited dimensions. The sheet material preferably includes a plurality of parallel strands and perpendicular, intersecting bars. At least one bar extends within each concrete panel in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of the concrete panel to add strength to the formed geomattress and aid in lifting of the geomattress by the sheet material. The geomattress is formed by placing a section of sheet material above bottom mold halves filled with concrete and then filling top mold halves positioned above the sheet material with concrete. Gaps formed between adjacent rows of staggered panels and tapered sidewalls of the panels allow bending of the geomattress to aid in lifting the geomattress and to conform to a limited extent to the contour of the area onto which the geomattress is placed.

Concrete geomattress

A facing panel is added to a surface of a geocell, on an outboard face of the cell, exposed to free water forces. The facing panel is filled with either stone, concrete, wooden boards, plastic sheets or steel sheets. In concrete usage, synthetic drainage is introduced to prevent the buildup of hydrostatic pressures behind the facing panel. The facing panel creates the ability to construct vertical retaining walls by stacking geocell units on top of each other and then filling a facing panel with either stone or concrete for a completed wall face. The geocell units are filled with sand or shell as retained in the geocells by geotextile liners. Circular geocells also retain fill in a geotechnical structure. Circular compartments are formed by connecting plastic mesh material at points on the compartment circumference, thus producing a cylindrical confinement of granular fill. The geotechnical structure thus formed may be used in a variety of applications such as bulkheads, vertical walls, wave breaks, the side of an artificial island, confinement berms, and columns to support vertical loads.

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Mobile, AL, United States of America

Robert M Mattox