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भारतीय मानक IS 14458 (Part 6) : 2020

Indian Standard

पहाड़ी क्षेत्र के लिए प्रतिधारक

भित्ति — मार्गदर्शी सिद्धांत
भाग 6 गबलों की दीवारों का निर्माण

Retaining Wall For Hill

Area — Guidelines
Part 6 Construction of Gabion Walls

ICS 93.020

© BIS 2020

भारतीय मानक ब्रयू ो

B U R E A U O F I N D I A N S TA N D A R D S
मानक भवन, 9 बहादरु शाह ज़फर मार्ग, नई िदल्ली – 110002
MANAK BHAVAN, 9 BAHADUR SHAH ZAFAR MARG
NEW DELHI-110002
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Hill Area Development Engineering Sectional Committee, CED 56

FOREWORD
This Indian Standard (Part 6) was adopted by the Bureau of Indian Standards, after the draft finalized by the
Hill Area Development Engineering Sectional Committee had been approved by the Civil Engineering Division
Council.
Retaining walls are structures, which support the backfill and maintain the difference in elevation of the two
ground surfaces. They are generally located at the toe of cut slopes on the valley side of a hill road section or
excavated platform. Retaining walls are effectively utilized to tackle the problems of landslide in hill areas by
providing support to the hill slopes or cut slopes.
If the retaining walls are not provided at the toe of hill excavations, the gradual slope degradation may often
lead to progressive slope instability and environmental degradation resulting from unprotected excavation. This
standard (Part 6) is therefore formulated to provide necessary guidelines for construction of gabion retaining wall
for the protection of cut slopes in the hills. The other parts formulated in the series are:
Part 1 : 1998 Selection of type of wall
Part 2 : 1997 Design of retaining/breast walls
Part 3 : 1998 Construction of dry stone walls
Part 4 : 2018 Construction of banded dry stone masonry walls
Part 5 : 2018 Construction of cement stone masonry walls

Further parts being formulated are:

a) Construction of RCC crib walls,
b) Design of RCC cantilever walls/buttressed walls/L-type walls, and
c) Design and construction of reinforced earth retaining walls.
The choice of a particular type of retaining wall is dependent on the nature of ground including geology, budget
and availability of construction materials in the vicinity. A gabion retaining wall is a gravity retaining structure,
which retains soil with its weight and section. These are extensively used in hill infrastructures as a toe support
for cut slopes and natural slopes. The high porosity and permeability of gabions prevent the pore-water pressure
development behind the walls. Unlike walls made of rigid structures, such as cement stone masonry and RCC,
gabion walls have the advantage of being able to withstand large deformations without cracking and are flexible.
These walls, therefore, are suitable in various field conditions, particularly where the terrains are liable to become
saturated and where the foundation is composed of relatively compressible materials like debris and other
unconsolidated materials.
Since low to medium height gabion walls are extensively constructed in hills for various purposes, this standard
focuses on gabion walls up to 6 m height and provides guidelines to field engineers for the construction of such
gabion retaining wall. If required, depending upon the site conditions, the engineer-in-charge may validate the
design before construction.
The composition of the Committee responsible for the formulation of this standard is given at Annex A.
For the purpose of deciding whether a particular requirement of this standard is complied with the final value
observed or calculated, expressing the result of a test or analysis shall be rounded off in accordance with
IS 2 : 1960 ‘Rules for rounding off numerical values ( revised )’. The number of significant places retained in the
rounded off value should be the same as that of the specified value in this standard.
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IS 14458 (Part 6) : 2020

Indian Standard
RETAINING WALL FOR HILL AREA — GUIDELINES
PART 6 CONSTRUCTION OF GABION WALLS

1 SCOPE extensively used in hill infrastructures as a toe support

for cut slopes and natural slopes. The high porosity
This standard (Part 6) deals with the construction
and permeability of gabions prevent the pore-water
aspects of gabion walls used for protecting cut slopes pressure development behind the walls, which is a
as well as natural slope at the toe of slope. major advantage here. Unlike walls made of rigid
structures, such as cement stone masonry and RCC,
2 REFERENCES
gabion walls have the advantage of being able to
The following standards contain provisions, which withstand large deformations without cracking and are
through reference in this text constitute provisions of flexible. These structures blend with the surroundings
this standard. At the time of publication, the editions and allow vegetation to take roots through the structure
indicated were valid. All standards are subject to which enhances the life of the structure.
revision, and parties to agreements based on this The gabion walls are suitable in various field conditions,
standard are encouraged to investigate the possibility particularly where the terrains are liable to become
of applying the most recent editions of the standards saturated and where the foundation is composed of
indicated below: relatively compressible materials like debris and other
unconsolidated materials. Hence, gabion walls are
IS No. Title widely used in rugged hilly terrains. Gabion walls are
432 (Part 2) : Specification for mild steel and relatively simple to construct. Where suitable rock
1982 medium tensile steel bars and blocks are readily available as fill material, the use of
hard drawn steel wire for concrete gabion walls is particularly attractive for reasons of
reinforcement: Part 2 Hard-drawn economy and speed of construction.
steel wire (third revision) Keeping this in view, effective utilization of gabions
14458 (Part 5) Retaining wall for hill areas — has been adopted in many of the infrastructures like
: 2016 Guidelines: Part 5 Construction of highways, railways, bridges, road structures, river front
cement stone masonry walls structures, bridge abutments, culvert protection works
and in a number of other uses. This standard particularly
16013 : 2012 Welded wire gabions (metallic- deals with its utilization as a retaining wall at the toe of
coated or metallic-coated with cut slopes and natural slopes.
PVC coating) — Specification
16014 : 2012 Mechanically woven, double- 4 MAIN COMPONENTS OF GABION
twisted, hexagonal wire mesh RETAINING WALL
gabions, revet attresses and rock Gabion retaining wall is a gravity structure, made up
fall netting (galvanized steel wire of row upon row of orthogonal cages or baskets of
or galvanized steel Wire with PVC varying sizes, which are filled with rock blocks and tied
coating) — Specification together. Gabion walls have three major components
namely gabion box, stone for filling gabion and backfill.
3 GENERAL
Gabion is a wire fabric container, which is systematically 4.1 Gabion Box
partitioned with variable size units, interconnected It is a rectangular box fabricated using heavily
with other similar containers and filled with suitable galvanized and double twisted steel woven wire mesh
stones at the site of use to form flexible, permeable and (see Fig. 1). Steel woven wire mesh is common for
monolithic structures and serve the purpose of retaining retaining wall purposes. The box is divided into cells by
walls as well as other uses, like sea walls, channel transverse diaphragms. For using the gabions in harsh
lining, revetments and wires. and aggressive environments additional PVC coating
A gabion retaining wall is a gravity retaining structure, is done over the heavily galvanized steel wire. Nylon,
and retains soil with its weight and section. These are polypropylene and polyethylene materials may be used
in specific conditions.

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IS 14458 (Part 6) : 2020

LID
A variety of cage sizes are used taking into account
the availability of materials and to suit the terrain.
DIAPHRAGM However, the modules of 2 m × 1 m × 1 m with 2 m
being parallel to the hill face is the commonly adopted
END
gabions size in the hills. The above type of simple boxes
are used for gabion walls up to 6 m height. However,
if the walls are to be designed for more heights, strong
BACK
boxes to withstand higher gravity loads are required.
For that purpose, additional measures, such as bracing
END H wire/stiffener as well as spenax fasteners/overlapping
fasteners/steel rings can be provided in addition to other
safety measures. Since low to medium height gabion
walls are extensively constructed in hills for various
FRONT purposes, this standard focuses on gabion walls up to
L 6m. If more height of the wall is required, a horizontal
W or inclined (up to 30°) bench/platform shall be provided
at 6 m height (see Fig. 3) having a bench width of 3 m.
Further walls for more height can be planned safely by
providing such benches.
Fig.1 View of Gabion Box Showing its
Components
Gabions are manufactured with all components
mechanically connected at the production facility. The
external face and top lid are made from the same mesh.
The ends, back, and diaphragm are connected to the
base at the installation site by helical wires or other
methods. All perimeter edges of the mesh forming
the basket have selvedge with wires having diameter
of about 1.5 times that of the wire-mesh to prevent
unravelling. The gabion base, top and sides should be
formed from a single piece of mesh. The completely
woven wire mesh box can stretch or contract in two
directions in its own plane and thus a rectangular wire-
mesh basket filled with rock blocks can deform in any Fig.3 Inclined (25° to 30°) Bench at 6 m Height of
direction. Welded wire-mesh is also manufactured Gabion Wall
from steel wire electrically welded at each intersection.
It does not have the ability to stretch and contract so 4.2 Gabion infill Material
that the baskets are less flexible as compared to woven Rock blocks used for filling gabions should be fresh
wire-mesh gabions. Gabions are supplied to project site to fairly fresh, hard, angular to sub-rounded, durable,
from factory with its components folded flat, collapsed clean and well graded. Weathered rock bocks shall
and packed in bundles (see Fig. 2). not be used as they tend to break under loading. Care
should be taken to ensure good quality that they do not
lose their integrity on exposure to atmosphere or water
during the life of the structure. The maximum size of
the rock block should not exceed two-thirds the depth
of the gabion to be filled or 300 mm, whichever is less.
The preferred size is 150 mm to 300 mm. The smallest
dimension of the rock block should at least be twice the
largest dimension of the mesh aperture.
4.3 Backfill
The hill cutting for Gabion wall construction is
generally minimum particularly in case of low height
walls (< 3 m). However, it may be considerable in case
if the height of wall is more. If the width of the backfill
is 0.5 m or more, the inverted filters as suggested in
7 of IS 14458 (Part 5) is recommended here as back
Fig. 2 Stack of Folded Gabion Bundles fill. If the width of the backfill is less than 0.5 m, free

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IS 14458 (Part 6) : 2020

draining materials ranging from small boulders to 7 CONSTRUCTION PRACTICE

coarse sand shall be dumped in the gap between the
wall and hill cutting. In all cases of backfill, the top 7.1 Foundation Preparation
0.5 m thickness shall be filled tightly with natural The construction of gabions starts with foundation
soil or impervious clayey soil to prevent ingress of preparation. The foundation is excavated to the
surface water into the backfill material. The growth of desired width and depth. Loose pockets if any, shall
vegetation on the top soil and penetrating roots through be excavated and filled back with suitable granular
the structure of gabion in short time will help to blend or backfill material. The place should be cleared of
it with the surroundings, which enhances the life of the standing water to ensure proper placement of gabions.
structure. The entire surface should be compacted well so that the
density of compacted formation should be greater than
5 DESIGN CONSIDERTIONS or equal to 95 percent of the modified Proctor value.
The Gabion retaining walls up to 6 m height can be Later the formation shall be levelled without ruts and
designed as unreinforced gravity retaining walls with undulations
the following general design consideration, which is
7.2 Installation of Gabion Box
found to be adequate based on preliminary analysis:
The gabion panels are unfolded and laid over an even,
a) Top width — 0.75 m to 1.0 m, and
levelled and hard surface. The side panels of hexagonal
b) Base width — 0.6 to 0.75 H (H = height of wall). woven mesh gabions should be stretched taut by
The Gabion retaining wall is constructed by placing properly straightening them. The gabion boxes should
gabion boxes systematically one over the other be correctly assembled by folding the side panels and
covering the entire length of the slope to be protected. wiring them together so that all four corners match and
The placement of the boxes can be generally done in form an exact rectangular shape and size as designed
three patterns – front stepped wall, back stepped wall as (see Fig. 5). The edges are laced together, starting
well as front and back stepped wall (see Fig. 4). It may from top corner and in a continuous operation using
be better if the walls are provided with a back batter alternate single and double loop at the spacing of one
(that is, having dip towards valley) of about 6 : 1 to mesh length. The ends of the lacing wire are secured at
10 : 1. The base of the wall should be embedded to a each corner. Individual ties of lacing wire should not be
depth of 0.5 m to 0.75 m into the soil with increased used. Alternatively, steel rings as mentioned in IS16014
depth in case of compressible type of soil. The can be used which are attached using a mechanical tool.
front stepped gabion retaining wall with a batter of It should be ensured that the boundaries of all panels
6 : 1 is more preferred in hilly terrains in view of its are suitably woven using the thick selvedge wires.
high stability and ability to take more deformation. Wherever possible, the vertical joints between the units
should be staggered in adjacent courses to prevent
6 TECHNICAL SEPCIFICATIONS OF GABION the formation of weak vertical shear planes through
The technical specifications of various materials used the gabion wall and to give a better and more integral
in gabion structures should meet the requirements as appearance.
specified in IS 16013 and IS 16014.

Fig. 4 Different Patterns of Gabion Wall

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IS 14458 (Part 6) : 2020

Fig. 5 Installation of Gabion

7.3 Filling of Gabions 7.4 Porosity Check

The gabions should be tightly filled to ensure minimum The average porosity of the gabion boxes can be found
voids. For better finish, the stone fill of the front face out by weighing the filled boxes. The weight of the box
is first selected and placed carefully to give the best can be compared with calculated weight of box.
appearance. When using quarried/crushed rock blocks, Assume the density of the stone (rs) = 26 kN/m3.
they shall be selected in such a way that at least one
face is flat-shaped. Some overfilling is recommended In general, porosity (n) of the filled gabion box shall be
to allow for subsequent settlement of the rock infill. around 30 to 40 percent
Sharp particles in crushed rocks may cause damage Density of gabion would be rg = rs × (1 – n) ignoring
to the wire-mesh of gabions or its protective coating. air voids
Therefore, strict supervision is required to ensure proper Assuming 35 percent porosity the density of gabion =
filling. After filling, the lids of the gabions are closed so 16.9 kN/m3.
that they meet the top edges of the sides and ends of the
box without leaving any gap. The mesh lids should be Hence, weight of 1.5 m × 1 m × 1 m Gabion box =
tied down to the tops of diaphragms provided as well 1.5 × 16.9 = 25.35 kN ~ 2.5 ton
as to the tops of the sides and ends. Facia of adjoining The weight of the filled gabion box should be
units shall be securely joined together along the vertical approximately equal to the calculated weight.
facing and top edges of their contact surfaces. 7.5 Back-filling Behind Gabions
Other boxes in the rows above are also placed and The inverted filter material as specified in IS14458
packed in position following the same procedure to (Part 5) shall be used as back-fill behind the gabion
complete the wall. wall. This shall be achieved by placing materials of
desired sizes and compacting them in layers of 200 mm
to 300 mm up to the top. However, in order to prevent
the seepage of surface water into the backfill material,
the top 500 mm shall be packed with natural soil or
impervious clayey soil.

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IS 14458 (Part 6) : 2020

ANNEX A
( Foreword )

COMMITTEE COMPOSTION
Hill Area Development Engineering Sectional Committee, CED 56

Organization Representative(s)
In Personal Capacity (H No-FFA, Block - Dr R. Anbalagan (Chairman)
G Priya Sudarsana Apts, Melur Road,
Srirangam Tiruchirappalli 620006),
Tami Nadu
AIMIL Ltd, New Delhi Shri Sharique Khan
Shri Aman Khullar (Alternate)
Border Roads Organization, New Delhi Brig A. K. Das
Lt Col Parikshit Mehra (Alternate)
Building Materials & Technology Dr Shailesh Kumar Agarwal
Promotion Council, New Delhi
Central Public Works Department, Shri Sheo Prasad Singh
Shillong Shri Prem Chand Mathur (Alternate)
Central Soil & Materials Research Station, Dr Manish Gupta
New Delhi Shri Hari Das (Alternate)
Central Water Commission, New Delhi Director HCD (NW&S))
Director (Sardar Sarovar) (Alternate)
CSIR-Central Building Research Institute, Shri Ashok Kumar
Roorkee Shri Ajai Chaurasia (Alternate)
CSIR-Central Institute of Mining & Fuel Dr R. K. Goel
Research, Roorkee Shri Anil Swarup (Alternate)
CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, Dr Kishor Kumar
New Delhi Dr Pankaj Gupta (Alternate)
Defence Terrain Research Laboratory Dr L. K. Sinha
(DRDO), Delhi
Department of Science & Technology, Shri Bhoop Singh
Ministry of Science & Technology,
New Delhi
G. B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Shri Kireet Kumar
Environment Development, Almora Shri Soukhin Tarafdar (Alternate)
Geological Survey of India, Kolkata Shri M. S. Bodas
Dr T. B. Goshal (Alternate)
Himalayan Environmental Studies & Dr Anil Joshi
Conservation Organization, Dehradun
Housing & Urban Development Chairman & Managing Director
Corporation Ltd, New Delhi
Indian Army Corps of Engineers, YOL Brig Virender Singh Kattarya
CANTT
Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dr P. K. Champati Ray
Dehradun Dr Ajanta Goswami (Alternate)
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Dr M. N. Viladkar
Roorkee Dr Mahendra Singh (Alternate)

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IS 14458 (Part 6) : 2020

Organization Representative(s)
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Representative
Mumbai
Konkan Railway Corporation, Navi Shri Rajesh Agarwal
Mumbai
Maccaferri Environmental Solutions Pvt Shrimati Minimol Korulla
Ltd, Gurugram Dr H. S. Mandal (Alternate)
Military Engineer Services, Engineer- Shrimati Rivoo Mahendru
in-chief’s Branch, Integrated HQ of Shri S. K. Mishra (Alternate)
Ministry of Defence (Army),
New Delhi
National Centre for Seismology, Dr O. P. Mishra
New Delhi Dr H. S. Mandal (Alternate)
National Highway Authority of India, Dr Ram Kumar
New Delhi Shri R. P. Singh (Alternate)
National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Shri S. Murugappan
Ltd, HEPALI
National Institute of Disaster Management, Representative
New Delhi
National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee Shri R. D. Singh
Dr Sudhir Kumar (Alternate)
Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, New Delhi Shri Sumit Jain
SJVN Limited, Shimla Shri A. K. Chadha
Snow Avalanche Study and Establishment, Col P. Mathur
Chandigarh
THDC India Limited, Rishikesh Shri T. S. Routela
Shri Ajay Kumar (Alternate)
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dr S. K. Bartarya
Dehradun
BIS Directorate General Shri Sanjay Pant, Scientist ‘F’ and Head (Civil Engineering) (CED)
[ Representing Director General ( Ex-officio ) ]

Member Secretary
Dr Manoj Kumar Rajak
Scientist ‘D’ (Civil Engineering) (CED), BIS

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This Indian Standard has been developed from Doc No.: CED 56 (15021).

Amendments Issued Since Publication

Amend No. Date of Issue Text Affected

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