Tuesday
Mar232010
Soil Nailing Gone Wrong
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 2:49PM When I was at the Willow Creek Site last week, I came across this interesting little slope stabilization technique...
I believe they call it the 'Alberta Sneaker Method'. Start with a Sneaker, Soil Nail it, and top off with Flexterra. This being a relatively new method, John is still working on the typicals and studies are ongoing at Colorado State University to see if efficacy rates are affected through shoe type. Does a tennis shoe provide superior erosion control versus a casual loafer? These are the things we need to find out before this method can be adopted industry wide.
Update on Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 4:47PM by
WatchYourDirt
WatchYourDirt
Just in case you're not familiar with Slope Nailing...
Reader Comments (6)
I think we should not neglect the Reef Sandal, any of you who have seen the ads in Surfing magazines will understand the dynamics involved in choosing that type of anchor.
Back to loafers, especially "penny loafers", well, they are primarily worn by lawyers so that could decrease efficacy. Has anybody considered high heels?
Looks to me like an opening scene of "Bones" or "Monk" - your typical erosion control - murder mystery story.
I am finding myself asking whether or not the brand of sneaker is really that relevant? Traction, sure I could understand that but I am not sure brand really bears that much impact. Interestingly enough, we may have a new certification on our projects.........CSSN. Certified Sneaker Soil Nailer. I think there is real potential here, sign me up for the first exam!
In fact, under tropical conditions, anything nailed in the soil may help vegetation recovery as it helps seeds and spores ancor and resist strong storms. In this sense, even if we have sneakers or "Bones" nailed in soil, this may help to feed a "Monk" in a very short while.
High heels could facilitate the development of some legumes and speed up root maturing process, thus inducing a faster development of rhizobium which, at their time, would generate the conditions for the development of grasses.
Of course the brand is relevant. Long brand names would lead to longer lables to widen ancoring area. Can you imagine how helpful to environment would an "ANTIDISESTABLISHMENTARIANISM SNEAKER" be?
These comments just show how technically knowledgeable the readers of WYD are! Far superior to the typical scientific discipline and a much broader understanding of the real important issues
It's obvious that the brand of shoe is not as important as the shoe's operant effect as a washer. What effect does SHOE SIZE have in relation to nail length for a given soil type/compaction and percent slope ? SS = (soil cohesion coefficient)x(slope)/nail length is one formula that comes to mind. IF the soil type's cohesiveness is multiplied by slope length and then factored with nail length then Shoe Size (SS) becomes a critical result. Use of a smaller size shoe on slopes that are oversteepened or incohesive would be unwise. Use of shoes more like my own would be in order. However, on lesser slopes, smaller shoes would suffice, thus saving some labor costs through increasing the number of shoes carried per laborer. For projects near Los Angeles or New York, materials pricing for the requisite Jimmy Choos or Manual Blahniks will be a factor, although some cost offsets might be achievable through substitution of the heels for the nails. Thanks for providing such stimulating new directions in slope stabilization techniques.