The use of Laterlite Expanded Clay is strongly advantageous in the construction of new slope embankments, or the reinstatement of existing slope embankments, thanks to its lightness and static functionality (i.e. its internal stability), which reduce the load on the slope, avoiding movement due to landslip or the risk of reactivating any pre-existing landslip.
If the embankment is contained by a retaining wall, the use of expanded clay has the further advantage of reducing lateral thrust on the wall (see…).
Advantages
Strengthened ground, reinforced ground, geogrids.
Laterlite Expanded Clay is compatible with the reinforcement systems that are widely used in the construction of slope embankments – strengthened earth, reinforced earth, and geogrids. If layers of expanded clay are spread in a sequence, these adapt easily to the modularity of the containing system adopted. Despite the light weight of the expanded clay, very high friction (i.e. extraction) values can be attained at the interface where it comes into contact with the reinforcement, enabling the dimensions of the reinforcement to be calculated efficiently.