What is Gabion? In the world of architecture and construction, there is a term that is gabion. Gabion is a basic construction of a building or embankment. In the riverside area, surely you often find it. It could even be the house you live in today using gabion.
Gabion is a woven steel wire coated with galvanized or zinc. The woven steel wire is made with a double winding technique that forms hexagon-shaped holes. This webbing is firmly tied between the sides so that it does not unravel easily. Woven bonding is what makes gabion able to hold the soil so as to prevent landslides or erosion. The wire used is indeed made of galvanized steel so that the wire is not easily rusted. If you are still not familiar with the term of gabions, just refer to the following discussion.
What is Gabion?
Gabion comes from the Italian “gabbione” which means large cage. Gabion is a wall made of iron wire made of stone or concrete, sometimes soil and sand.
Gabion is made of woven wire and coated by zinc heavy galvanize that is anti-rust with double twists forming hexagonal holes or hexagons. This webbing is then filled with medium to large sized stones, or concrete, sometimes soil and sand that is double-coiled between the sides.
In the past, it has been used for thousands of years as a defense mechanism during the war. The gabion currently used in construction and civil engineering.
In addition, other uses of gabion are as road construction, military applications, to landscape formation.
The the wire pull (tensile strength) and the double winding on this woven hexagonal hole make the gabion strong and the webbing becomes less easily decomposed. It can be said that the durability of this gabion will largely depend on the wire age range.
When there is a wire that is cut off, the gabion will fail to perform its function. Therefore, galvanized layered wire is most often used because it can last for 60 years.
Gabion Functions and Benefits
Gabion can be used as a dam shaper to increase the volume of river water.
The function of gabion among them is to protect and strengthen the soil structure around the cliff so that there are no landslides, river banks, and embankments. Gabion can also be used as a dam shaper to increase the volume of river water.
Parts of the riverbank can experience erosion due to heavy river currents and continue to occur. Here, the gabion will serve as a guard of the riverside area of the river current so that the riverbank will not be easily destroyed. Gabion is used in several projects and serves a variety of purposes. The most common applications of gabion are as follows:
- Retaining structures such as retaining walls
- Corrosion prevention structures such as sea walls, riverside defense, dam canal banks, bends, groynes and for the protection of reservoirs and lakeside.
- Cylindrical metal gabions are used for dams or in foundation construction.
- Used as a noise barrier
- Gabion is also used as a temporary flood wall. It is used to change the direction of the strength of flood water around weak structures.
- Aesthetic purpose.
Gabion advantages
- Flexible, can follow the movement of the ground beneath it without damaging the construction
- Translucent water, so that it can reduce active soil pressure due to water that can flow through the sidelines of gabion-filled rocks
- Economical
- The construction is simple, it can be done without high-tech machines.
- It can be installed in diverse environments, either in water or dry places
- Environmentally friendly
- The weight is light and easy to carry.
- It can be produced in a size tailored to the needs in the field
Read also:
8 Eco Friendly Building Materials