Why now use Flexible Stone Cage Nets instead of stone masonry for river bank defense?

In the early days, people often used natural stones like granite and gneiss. Once the rocks were polished, a lot of stone was bonded together with cement mortar to form a solid embankment. But today, when building river embankments, people use a hexagonal wire mesh called gabion mesh(or gabion cage) to fill stones and protect river embankments. Why is this? What are the outstanding advantages of gabion mesh that make the gabion cage an indispensable material in modern river embankment protection projects?

First of all,we need to understand what is hexagonal gabion wall wire mesh.

Introduction of hexagonal gabion cage       

The gabion cage made of high quality iron wire(Q195/Q235) that's strong and flexible, so the gabion box can bear gravity and pressure while still being pretty flexible. The gabion wire mesh is machine-woven with hexagonal mesh holes, which makes the gabion wall wire more breathable. The most common types of gabion box you'll find on the market are galvanized gabion baskets and PVC coated gabion box.

Galvanized gabion boxes

The manufacturing process of galvanized gabion box is divided into hot dip galvanizing and electro-galvanizing. Hot dip galvanizing involves placing the gabion mesh into a high-temperature machine, coating the surface of the gabion mesh with a zinc layer that can reach a thickness of 35-200 grams per square meter. Electro-galvanizing manufacturing process involves soaking the iron wire in an electrolytic zinc solution before weaving the iron wire into a hexagonal gabion wire mesh. The zinc layer thickness of electro-galvanized gabion basket is 15-38 grams per square meter, which is thinner than the zinc layer of hot dipped galvanized gabion box, resulting in slightly poorer rust and corrosion resistance, but a more uniform and smooth surface.

PVC coated gabion baskets

PVC gabion mesh adds a layer of PVC material protection to the surface of galvanized gabion wire mesh, providing you with a variety of color options. Common colors of PVC coated gabion boxes include white, black, red, and green. You can customize the color you like, making your next project more beautiful. The wire diameter of PVC coated gabion baskets is 2mm-8mm.

So, what makes the hexagonal gabion netting a better choice than stone masonry?

Features of hexagonal gabion boxes

1.Filling the cage with stones, there are gaps between the stones, which does not affect the growth of microorganisms between water and soil, does not damage the ecological environment, reduces the impact on the water cycle, and protects water quality.

2.The soil that naturally accumulates on the surface of the gabion boxes is great for plant growth. Not only can the plants reinforce the stones, preventing the rocks from falling and the embankment from collapsing, but the soil can also enhance greening, prevent the spread of desertification, and protect the environment.

3.The block-shaped stones filled in the gaps in the hexagonal gabion wire mesh can make sure there's enough space for flowing water, and the hexgonal gabion baskets are strong against scouring. If there's a flood, the gabion boxes can drain the water on time and reduce the damage caused by scouring, which extends the service life.

4.Gabion wire mesh is made from flexible galvanized or PVC coated low carbon steel wire, which is easy to cut and install, can adapt to various terrains, and has a wide range of uses.

5.The great thing about gabion baskets is that it's usually made from galvanised or PVC, which means the hexagonal gabion wire mesh really resistant to rust and corrosion. That makes the gabion boxes perfect for outdoor use. Plus, the PVC coated gabion box comes in a range of colours that you can customise to suit your customers' needs.

We know that the main function of gabion wire mesh is to replace traditional stone masonry to protect river embankments from sliding or being washed away. But gabion boxes has many other functions, do you know what they are?

Application of hexagonal gabion wire mesh

The hexagonal gabion box not only provides extremely high strength, but also has good permeability and ecological compatibility due to its hexagonal mesh design. The application of hexagonal gabion wire mesh is very wide, including but not limited to the following aspects: coastal embankments, subgrade protection, mountain landslides, highway and railway subgrade slope protection, ecological slope management, disaster prevention and control, large-scale slope support projects, ecological river construction, municipal gardens.

The hexagonal wire mesh also used as chicken wire mesh,however,the wire diameter and mesh size of the chicken wire mesh are finer than those of the gabion boxes.

Size chart of gabion baskets