AnyWay Solutions product in action

We were pleased to feature AnyWay Solutions Natural Soil Stabiliser (ANNS) in issue 6 of Structure and Design. This exciting new product has been used extensively across Africa in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Angola, Kenya, Burkina Faso and South Africa. It has been used throughout the Pacific region into Asia, in the Middle East and in Europe and in both North and South America for the construction of urban and rural roads, mining roads and for building runways, ports and railways. ANSS has also been used successfully for parking lots, whether unpaved or tarred, airstrips, industrial service yards, walking trails in urban and national parks, and for creating high-performance, all-weather riding surfaces at equestrian centres.

It can also be used for stabilising earth embankments or for dam walls and it can be used to line landfill sites. AnyWay Natural Soil Stabiliser (ANSS) deals with the most basic problem of unstable soil foundations that expand and contract during different weather conditions causing cracks and potholes on tarred roads and other hard surfaces, and corrugations and erosion on gravel or dirt roads. Technically speaking the product is a unique formula made up of a specific type of cement, lime, several types of pozzolans (types of silica) and a unique polypropylene (plastic) fibre. More simply, itโ€™s a type of powder that is somewhat like cement, but much more effective, which is mixed with the existing soil to harden and stabilise it when water is added. It doesnโ€™t require the addition of sand or stone, often transported to site from far away quarries, thus saving costs and simplifying the construction process. It can be used on any soil type including sandy soil, clay soil or even black cotton soil which is notoriously unstable and considered the worst foundation for road construction. Structure and Design is delighted to present this unique product in action for the first time in Zimbabwe. This outstanding product has been used to construct an airstrip just outside Harare with exceptional results, and itโ€™s a really fast process too.

A strip of 800m long by 20m wide can easily be completed within a single day โ€“ much faster than the conventional method. The method of application used to construct the airstrip was fairly straightforward and simple. Obviously the process began with the engineers and other experts initially surveying the proposed site and coming up with the design for the project. Soil type, drainage, weather conditions and the intended usage are just some of the factors that were taken into consideration in order to determine the correct distribution and application of the product. In this particular case the first step was for a grader to remove approximately 10cms of the surface in order to get rid of any organic plant matter like grasses and small shrubs which would adversely affect the efficiency of the ANSS.

Once the engineers determined the correct ratio of the product to be used the bags were then set out by hand at the right spacing โ€“ in this case about one metre apart. The bags were then split open and the product was spread โ€“ again by hand โ€“ in an even layer on top of the exposed soil. The next stage was for a recycler machine, with a water bowser attached, to begin working the product into the substrate. The recycler evenly mixed the ANSS with the existing soil to a depth of around 10 cms, creating an even distribution. The water bowser followed behind adding 1 to 2 % of water to the mixture. Because ANSS is similar to cement based products it requires the water to begin the mixing and hardening process. Thereafter a vibrating compacter was used to consolidate the soil and ANSS mixture creating an extremely tough rock hard surface.

The compacter used had a pad foot which created small indentations in the surface so the grader was used again to create a smooth, even, extremely hard surface. This was followed by a metal drum roller going over the surface yet again to iron out any creases left by the grader. A final water shower was then applied to enable the ANSS to completely solidify, in much the same way as concrete slabs are wet to allow the cement to cure. However, the beauty of ANSS is that the curing time is almost instant, whereas with cement or concrete products the curing time can stretch over a few days.

The surface was now ready in a much reduced time โ€“ in fact the entire process to this stage was achieved in about four days! The surface was then coated with bitumen in the usual way and a final layer of crushed stone or chip seal was applied and finished off with the roller to compress the chip seal into the tar. And the entire process was complete and the airstrip was ready for immediate use. To find out more about this remarkable product and other products in their range you can visit their web site: www.anywaysolutions.com. Sole agents for AnyWay Solutions in Zimbabwe: Southern Technology Solutions Lynley Cahill Email: cahilllynley@gmail.com Cell: 0772 600 301


 


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *