Industrial Park Ground Stabilization Using Geocell in Hosur, Tamil Nadu

An Industrial Park Project in Hosur, Tamil Nadu used 5,006 SQM of Ocean HDPE Geocell 356×100 MM to reinforce the subgrade and build a stable base for heavy industrial traffic. Industrial parks carry trucks, forklifts and equipment loads every day, and on weak soil that traffic causes settlement, rutting and pavement cracking unless the ground is stabilised during construction.

Project overview

• Project Name: Industrial Park Project
• Location: Hosur, Tamil Nadu
• Product Supplied: Ocean HDPE Geocell 356×100 MM
• Quantity Used: 5,006 SQM

The geocell system was installed to reinforce the subgrade and create a stable base capable of supporting heavy industrial traffic.

How geocells stabilise a base

Geocells are three-dimensional honeycomb panels made from HDPE strips welded together at intervals. Stretched open on site and filled with aggregate or soil, each cell holds its infill in place. The cell walls stop the aggregate spreading sideways under a wheel load, so the filled mattress acts as a stiff slab and spreads the load over a wider area of the soil beneath. The result is lower stress on the subgrade and less rutting than an unconfined aggregate layer of the same thickness.

In the designation 356×100 MM, 356 mm is the weld spacing along the strips, which sets the cell size, and 100 mm is the cell depth. A 100 mm deep cell is a common choice for load-support layers under yards and access roads.

Geocells are commonly used for:

• Road construction over weak subgrades
• Industrial yards and parking areas
• Slope stabilisation and erosion protection
• Railway embankments
• Channel protection

In India, the use of geocells in road pavements is covered in IRC:SP:59, the Indian Roads Congress guidelines on geosynthetics in road pavements.

Where geocells fit among geosynthetics

Geosynthetics do several jobs in an industrial pavement:

• Reinforcement: geocells and geogrids reduce rutting and settlement.
• Stabilisation: confinement improves load distribution over weak soil.
• Separation: a non-woven geotextile under the geocell keeps the infill from mixing into a soft or silty subgrade.
• Drainage: free-draining granular infill lets water out of the base.
• Erosion control: on slopes and embankments around the site.

For an industrial park, geocells are quick to install and can reduce the thickness of imported aggregate needed for a given load, compared with conventional soil reinforcement or deep excavation and replacement.

Installation and quality control

The key installation steps are:

1. Prepare and compact the subgrade, and lay a separation geotextile where the soil is soft or fine-grained.
2. Expand the geocell panels to their full open size and anchor them with stakes so they stay open during filling.
3. Fill the cells with aggregate or soil, working from the edges so equipment never drives directly on empty cells.
4. Overfill slightly and compact, leaving a cover layer above the cell walls to protect them from traffic.

Quality checks cover full cell expansion, uniform filling and compaction levels. A panel that is not properly anchored can close up or shift during filling and loading, losing much of its confining effect.

Long-term performance

HDPE geocells have good tensile strength, resist chemical and biological degradation in soil, and when buried are protected from UV. Confined infill keeps its shape under repeated wheel loads, so the base keeps its structural integrity under the daily traffic of an industrial park.

Lifecycle benefits

• Reduced pavement thickness requirements
• Less rutting and settlement repair
• Better structural performance on weak ground

Ocean Non Wovens manufactures and supplies geocells, geotextiles and geogrids for industrial and infrastructure projects across India. See the geocell range or more case studies.