CubiMac gabion baskets are manufactured from robust double-twist 8 x 10 type, Polimac®-coated, 3.4mm-diameter steel wire mesh. CubiMac has been specifically developed for use in construction sites where an in-situ filling is not possible or inconvenient (ie installation underwater).

CubiMac can be filled using a special frame combined with a shaking table to ensure the stones are compact by vibration; the units are equipped with polyester round slings to enable easy handling using standard lifting devices (ie by crane).

All connections are made with stainless C-rings to ensure the longest durability of the units.

The management and production system is certified in compliance with ISO 9001.

Composition

CubiMac prefilled gabions are made from a unique, heavy and robust grade of hexagonal double-twist steel wire mesh, manufactured for this application, to resist deformation.
The units are equipped with lifting straps to enable easy movement and transportation of the filled unit. Bracing wires are installed within the completed filled unit.

Advantages of CubiMac

  • On-site construction time is significantly reduced

  • Manual labour on the site is minimised

  • Mechanical filling and compaction require only minimal effort

  • Trusted Gabion construction quality

  • Minimal face bulging

  • Can be used in locations that are inaccessible/unsafe for operatives

Applications

  • Railway construction works with limited track possession times

  • Highway and motorway works

  • River training and bank protection

  • Dam and reservoir repairs

  • Rockfall and debris flow protection bunds

  • Noise barriers / acoustic bunds

  • Flood damage repairs

  • Working platforms

  • Temporary bridge support

PART 1 – PRODUCT 

 

1.1 DESCRIPTION 

This technical specification covers pre-filled gabions to be used for the construction of retaining walls, channel linings, and weirs for erosion control projects. 

Pre-filled gabions have been specifically developed for their use in construction sites where the in-situ filling is not possible or inconvenient (i.e. installation underwater). 

Prefilled gabions are delivered to the site filled with stones ready for use and equipped with polyester round slings. 

The units are manufactured in compliance with The Construction Products (Amendment etc.)(EU Exit) Regulations 2020 and have UKCA marking on the basis of UKAD 200019-00-0102 and UKTA-0836-22/0019.  

[For Republic of Ireland: The units are manufactured in accordance with Construction Product Regulation CPR 305/2011 and have a CE marking in compliance with EAD 200019-00-0102]. 

 

The management and production system of the supplier shall be certified in compliance with ISO 9001. 

 

All listed performances must be verifiable on laboratory test reports conducted by independent research institutes, the relevant documentation shall be submitted to the supervisor for the acceptance of the material 

 

Pre-filled gabions are units made of hexagonal double twisted steel wire mesh type 8x10, wire diameter 3.4/4.4 mm as per BS EN 10223-3 (fig. 1, table 1). 

 

Table 1. Standard Mesh-Wire 

Type 

Mesh size M (mm) 

Tolerance (mm) 

Internal Wire Diameter (mm) 

External Wire Diameter (mm) 

8x10 

80 

-0/+10 

3.40 

4.40 

 

The steel wire used for manufacturing pre-filled gabions shall be heavily galvanized with Zn-Al alloy in compliance with BS EN 10244-2, Table 2, Class A. 

The metallic coated wire core shall be protected with a high abrasion-resistant polymer coating (Polimac® or equivalent), with a nominal thickness of 0.5 mm, resulting in a nominal overall diameter of 4.40 mm. 

 

The standard pre-filled gabion is made by assembling different wire mesh panels. All connections are made with stainless C-Rings to ensure the longest durability to the units. 

Pre-filled gabions shall be divided into uniformly partitioned cells, with maximum sizes of 1x1.5m, by internal diaphragms (Fig. 1). 

The bottom side of the gabion will be equipped with polyester round slings having a capacity of 3 tons, to enable easy handling using standard lifting devices (i.e. crane). 

Each gabion will be pre-filled with stones using a special frame combined with a vibrating table to ensure the stones are compact by vibration and to achieve a minimum specific weight of 17 KN/m3. The rock will not be sensitive to water and to frost/defrost cycles. 

 

1.2 FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS 

In order to allow for the design at both Ultimate (ULS) and Serviceability (SLS) limit states, the gabion manufacturer shall provide the following characteristics:? 

  • Mesh Tensile strength: 85 ± 5 kN/m; tests carried out according to BS EN 10223-3. 

  • Punch resistance of the wire mesh: 35 ± 2 kN; tests on 1x1 m sample laterally constrained following the ASTM A975-21 test methodology. 

  • Long-term (120 years) degradation effects on wire mesh due to chemical and environmental effects, installation damage, UV-ray exposure, and abrasion. 

 

1.3 MATERIALS 

The double twisted steel wire mesh shall be manufactured with hexagonal 8x10 mesh type (BS EN 10223-3, Table 2), woven with a drawn steel wire core of 3.40 mm in diameter, with a minimum quantity of 265 g/m2 of Zn-Al metallic coated alloy, in accordance with BS EN 10244-2, Table 2, Class A.  

The double twisted steel wire mesh shall be resistant to outwearing accelerated ageing when subject to test in a Sulphur dioxide environment (ISO 22479): after 28 cycles of discontinuous tests, the mesh shall not show more than 5% of DBR (Dark Brown Rust). 

The metallic coated wire core shall be protected with a high abrasion-resistant polymer coating (Polimac® or equivalent), with a nominal thickness of 0.5 mm, resulting in a nominal overall diameter of 4.40 mm. 

 

1.4 POLYMER COATING 

The polymer coating shall not contain heavy metals and be resistant to:  

  • Outwearing accelerated ageing in salt spray (ISO 9227): after 15,000 hours of exposure, the mesh shall not show more than 5% of DBR (Dark Brown Rust). 

  • Abrasion test, in accordance with the procedure described in ASTM A975-23: after 550 cycles the polymer coating shall not expose the metal wire.       

  • UV radiation, in accordance with ISO 4892-3, type 1A: after 2,500 hours of exposure to QUV-A the tensile strength and elongation at break of the base compound shall not change more than 25% from the initial test results. The polymer coating shall not release phthalates during the degradation process. 

  • The brittleness temperature shall be lower than -35°, tested in accordance with ASTM D746.  

  • Corrosion spread test, in accordance with the procedure described in ASTM A975-23: the maximum corrosion length measured shall be always less than a mesh repetition on wire samples immersed in an acid solution with an unprotected end for 2500 hours. 

 

1.5 LACING 

The steel rings used for fastening operations shall be made of stainless steel and have the following characteristics: 

  • Diameter: 3.00 mm 

  • Tensile strength > 1,550 MPa 

  • Pull-apart strength > 2.0 kN 

1.6 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABILITY PROPERTIES 

 

1.6.1 Environmental Product Declaration 

The gabion units shall have a Type III Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) registered and certified in accordance with ISO 14025 and BS EN 15804, to evaluate the environmental impact and give the possibility to calculate the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the designed technical solution. 

Such sustainability performances/requirements have to be reported in the Type III EPD certificate; certifications of not authorised bodies or self-certificates issued by the manufacturer, are not allowed. 

The value shall be declared, as per Table 2, in terms of Global Warming Potential (GWP 100 years) and expressed in kg CO2-Equiv./kg. 

 

Table 2 – Environmental and sustainability properties 

Global Warming Potential (GWP 100 years) 

ISO 14025 

EN 15804 

certified numeric value 

[kg CO2-Equiv./kg] 

 

1.6.2 Environmental Harmlessness 

The polymer-coated steel wires shall be tested to ensure their Environmental Harmlessness according to the following procedures: 

  • Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure (SPLP) preparation as per EPA 1312 and Metals in Water by ICPMS (low level) as per EPA 6020B in which the presence or not of 31 different metals shall be analysed using atomic spectroscopy.  

The results shall be in compliance with (a) Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC; (b) CCME Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life, Freshwater; (c) U.S. EPA National Recommended Water Quality Criteria (Aquatic Life, Freshwater), 2006. 

  • PFAS test in water by SPE/LCMS as per EPA 537.1 in which the presence or not of 28 different PFAS shall be analysed, showing that the polymer-coated steel wires are PFAS free. Resulting in a concentration lower than 2 ng/L of PFOS and PFOA and < 4 ng/L for other PFAS. 

  • ELUATE Tests on environmental safeness, conducted as per M GEOK E:2016, shall ensure that the polymer coating is not critical for the environment. 

  • Smoke toxicity tests conducted as per ISO 5659-2 and EN 17084 shall ensure a Gases Conventional Index of Toxicity after 8 minutes sampling CITG (8) < 0.10 and a HCl concentration < 36 ppm 

 

1.7 STANDARD DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHTS 

Sizes for pre-filled gabions to be used in construction shall be as per Table 3. All sizes and dimensions are nominal; tolerances of ± 5% of the width, length and height shall be permitted.  

 

Table 3. Sizes for pre-filled gabions 

L=Length (m) 

W=Width (m) 

H=Height (m) 

# of cells 

Nominal Weight in the air (t) * 

1.0 

1 

0.5 

1 

1 

1.5 

1 

0.5 

1 

1.5 

2.0 

1 

0.5 

2 

2 

1.0 

1 

1 

1 

2 

1.5 

1 

1 

1 

3 

2.0 

1 

1 

2 

4 

* The actual weight may vary depending on the unit weight of the filling stones 

 

PART 2 – EXECUTION 

 

The product’s conformity shall be certified by a third-party Notified Body, according to the The Construction Products (Amendment etc.)(EU Exit) Regulations 2020, which shall assess the quality control process at the supplier’s production facility. 

[For Republic of Ireland: The product’s conformity shall be certified by a third-party Notified Body, according to CPR 305/2011, who shall assess the quality control process at the supplier’s production facility.] 

 

The stone fill material shall be provided in the proper sizes and quality. Rocks shall be hard, angular to round, durable and of such quality that they shall not disintegrate on exposure to water or weathering during the life of the structure.  

The Contractor must carefully select the lifting devices to be used for the installation works, as their choice depends on various factors: units’ weight, handling distance, etc. 

To avoid deformations of special preassembled gabions (CubiMac) during lifting, the units shall be uniformly hooked to distribute the load evenly, using all the polyester round slings available on the top of the units.  

For these reasons, a proper lifting frame, specifically designed for pre-filled gabion units, shall be used.