Environmental impact reduction effect and other effectiveness of rockfall protection reinforced soil walls with geocell instead of steel wall facing unit

Abstract

Various efforts are being made both in Japan and overseas to move towards a decarbonized society. To achieve carbon neutrality, civil engineers must actively focus on the selection and distribution of materials that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible. In this study, we examined the environmental impact reduction effect and shock absorption capacity of rockfall protection reinforced soil walls when the wall facing unit was changed from steel frames to geocells made of high-density polyethylene material. As a result of the verification, it was confirmed that by changing from the steel wall facing unit to geocells filled with single-grain crushed stone, it was possible to reduce emissions and maintain performance in terms of shock absorption capacity.