Lightening the load

for civil engineering and

geotechnical applications

Rail Highways Coastal BRIDGES Waterways LANDSCAPE DRAINAGE CONSTRUCTION

Civil Engineering | Leca Geotechnical Fill

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2 Introduction
Leca® LWA is a ceramic lightweight
aggregate produced by expanding
selected clays; glacial clays tend
to contain most of the essential
properties allowing expansion when
heated to their optimum.

Once treated, the excavated clay is passed through a rotary kiln and fired to a
temperature of approximately 1150°C. This process expands the material 4 to 5
times its original volume creating ceramic pellets with a cellular inner structure.

Leca® LWA was first produced in Scandinavia in the 1930s for the production
of lightweight blocks, it was soon discovered that the insulating properties of
the material could be of benefit to failing highways and railways throughout
Scandinavia and in 1958 following many years of testing Leca® LWA was
accepted as a proprietary fill material in the Scandinavian countries.

The raw material selection and production of Leca® LWA is strictly controlled
to ensure a uniform, high quality product that is structurally strong, stable,
durable and inert in addition to being lightweight and insulating. Today Leca®
LWA is used in many applications such as Geotechnical Fill, Masonry Blocks,
Horticultural Blends, Filtration and Bio-filtration.

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Geotechnical 3
Grading Thermal Conductivity
Leca® LWA is produced in the form of round ceramic granules with a porous cellular The practical thermal conductivity may vary from 0.10 to 0.15W/mK depending
inner structure. The grading for most Geotechnical applications is 10-20mm. on grading, compaction, humidity level and type of technical application.

Density Durability
Leca® LWA 10-20mm dry density ranges between 220kg/m3 – 325kg/m3. Leca® LWA is totally inert; it contains no harmful substances or gases and is
completely neutral. Leca® LWA’s resistance to chemical attack is comparable to
Resistance that of glazed tile, glass or other ceramic material.
Unlike other granular loose material Leca® LWA offers a frictional resistance
without any cohesion. The 10-20mmR grade has an internal angle of friction of
typically 37° (standard shear box tested) and a design strength of 100kN/m² due
to the rigidity of the rounded pellet.

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4
The main benefits
of Leca® LWA
in Geotechnical
applications are:

• 85%* less bulk density

• 75%* reduction of horizontal earth pressure to
retaining structures
• Reduced settlement periods and increased stability
• Superb insulating and free drainage properties
• Resistant to extreme temperatures, moisture and
chemical attack
• 100% inert and contains no harmful substances
or gases
• Reduced delivery vehicles – up to 100m³ per load
• Speed of site installation – up to 16 times
faster production*
* on average when compared to traditional fills

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 5
Leca® LWA - lightweight
fill for a variety of
civil engineering
applications:

• Lightening the loads on bridge abutments

• Reducing Earth Settlement
• Providing Efficient Drainage
• Protecting and insulating service pipework
• Alleviating pressure above natural voids or culverts
• Stabilising Slopes
• Lessening the load behind retaining walls
• Void infill

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6 Applications
Since 1958 Leca® LWA has proven to be a viable solution for: -

Rail Highways Coastal BRIDGES

Waterways LANDSCAPE DRAINAGE CONSTRUCTION

Plus:
Filtration & Bio-filtration, Horticulture, Hydro-culture and Motor test track Safety Stops

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General Fill 7
Embankment Construction
When used in most embankment designs Leca® LWA will provide immediate
cost advantages however, Leca® LWA within embankments over weak and
compressible soil deposits or underground voids will make those savings
considerable when compared with traditional methods generally used.

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8 General Fill
A
Reducing Settlement

The ability to reduce settlement of an embankment when incorporating Leca®

LWA can offer huge benefits; reducing timescales from years to a few months
and even, in some instances, eliminate settlement periods altogether.

Construction of embankments over weak and compressible soil deposits, where

the loading of the embankment causes soil consolidation and settlement, is
common.
B
Depending on the height of the embankment, the depth of the weak soil deposit
and the consolidation properties of the soil strata, total settlements can be very
deep and problematic in terms of road evenness, function and durability of the
road construction.

In the most difficult cases, various combinations of soil strengthening techniques

are available, for example, preloading, vertical drainage and deep stabilisation
with piles all of which are time consuming and costly to install. Figures A and B give example of bunded and un-bunded Leca® LWA filled earth
By lightening the embankment with Leca® LWA, subsoil strengthening and lengthy embankment constructed above weak and compressible subsoil with marginal
settlement can be reduced or even avoided altogether. settlement expected.

By lightening the embankment with Leca® LWA, subsoil strengthening and

lengthy settlement can be reduced or even avoided altogether.

West coast mainline

A120, Stansted embankment widening, Shap

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General Fill 9
Reducing Settlement (Continued)

Using Leca® LWA on large scale cut and fill operations and construction on
soft soils or bad ground can overcome stability problems, reducing the risk of
landslide and deformation. Used in road embankments, Leca® LWA exerts much
lower horizontal earth pressures compared with other backfill materials, helps
improve stability and reduce the need for counterfill.

When widening existing carriageway or rail embankment, the weight of the newly
constructed fills can often result in the new surface settling lower than the original
surface and could pull the existing surface out of level.

Leca® LWA has an installed bulk density of approximately 20% of that of

general fill materials and will considerably reduce settlement of the road
or rail carriageway, both immediately and in the long term. Widening and
replacing existing carriageways is also simplified by using Leca® LWA with
no specialist techniques necessary.

Cabot Park, Avonmouth

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10 General Fill
Load Compensation
In areas prone to mining subsidence or where ground conditions contain natural
sub-formation voids, drainage, culvert or tunnels and there is a danger of collapse,
expensive techniques such as load transfer are often considered. However, using
Leca® LWA can eliminate these costs and considerably lighten the load to provide
similar benefits to those when used in weak soil areas.
When constructing over weak underground voids or soils with low bearing capacity,
the load compensation method may be considered using Leca® LWA.
By extracting a volume of existing soil from beneath the new construction, the
equivalent volume of Leca® LWA replacing that soil will reduce the load on the sub-
formation by four times. By using Leca® LWA extraction can be kept to a minimum
in order to achieve nil settlement.
Figures C and D give example of minimized and equalized load embankments
constructed with Leca® LWA using the load compensation method.

P=P1+P2

D
P1
P

P2

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General Fill 11
Slope Stability
Leca® LWA is a lightweight material with open voids even when compacted.
This characteristic provides high drainage capacity and together with a very low
density will greatly assist in reducing the risk of bearing capacity
failure and increase the stability of the side slopes.

Leca® LWA is extremely

lightweight making it very
cost effective to transport
 

Tilbury

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12 Efficient Drainage
Efficient drainage of the structural layers of the road
build up can prevent loss of load bearing properties
caused by water and ensure a good load bearing
capacity throughout the road life.
Using free draining Leca ® LWA as a structural material within the
road build up will intercept the percolating water and water rising by
capillary action from the sub-formations and direct the rising water away
from the upper construction layers to improve the load bearing capacity.

Carriageways in cuts that extend below the natural level of the groundwater, frost Maintaining levels within any foul or surface water drainage system can be difficult
damage and loss of load bearing capacity can also be reduced by forming drain when the drain runs across a soft soil site. Leca® LWA can be used as a light weight
trenches filled with Leca® LWA at both sides of the road, along which the water pipe surround to reduce the pressure to the underlying soils and minimize the
is led away. Used within the carriageway drainage, Leca LWA will help filter and
®
likelihood of irregular settlement.
increase microbiological breakdown of pollutant run off from fields and highways.

Llandarcy Lagoon, Port Talbot

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Structural Fill
When used against retaining walls, Leca® LWA will
reduce the weight acting on the rear of the structure by
at least 75%, in comparison to traditional fill materials.
In figure 1 the ‘comparing pressure distribution diagram’
indicates that backfilling with Leca® LWA (A) rather than
conventional sand or gravel (B) reduces the earth pressure
on a 5m high wall by 75%.
13
This reduction in weight can avoid potential sliding, overturning, slip and tilting or
bearing failures and enables savings by increasing spacing between buttressing
walls and reducing structural dimensions. The bulk weight of the wall can also be
reduced and more cost efficient, attractive materials can be used in place of costly,
unattractive structural concrete.
Using Leca® LWA will minimise the differential settlement between piled bridge
abutments and the embankment fill. As it is a free draining material, Leca® LWA has
the added advantage of eliminating the need for rear wall block drainage.

CONC
RETE
WALL

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14

Dickens Heath Apartments and

Stoke Road Footbridge, Milton Keynes underground car park, Solihull

Structural Fill (Continued)

The ‘pull out’ resistance of Leca® LWA makes it an ideal solution for reinforced Leca® LWA is used extensively to reduce vertical loading. Structures such as
soil retaining walls. Particularly when constructed over weak sub-soils or voids, underground parking, tunnels or roof garden benefit greatly from the reduction
this method has been proven to cut overall construction costs considerably. in pressure and avoid additional costs of strengthening.

Being light weight and round in nature, Leca® LWA can be transported and
placed more easily than that of traditional fill in these difficult to access areas.

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 Protecting Services 15
Surrounding utilities and drainage carried within bridge
beams with Leca® LWA is a lightweight, simple to install
alternative to that of sand traditionally used to support
and insulate these services. The added benefit of using
the lightweight round granules of Leca® LWA as a pipe
surround is that there is little danger of any damage to
pipelines during backfilling and the likelihood of damage
from settlement or over-loading is reduced.

There is little danger of

any damage to pipelines
during backfilling

Westwood access road and

highway improvement, Wigan

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16 Quay Construction
and Maintenance
When constructing quays, soft ground conditions often call for the
use of lighter fills to guard against slide or deformation which can
damage structures. A number of solid berth structures have been
successfully built over recent years using Leca® LWA.
It can be used to an advantage in many quay designs such as sheet pile, sheet pile cell
and caisson structures and is also used as fill replacement in solid berth structures when
quayside waters are dredged to greater depths. The stresses and strain of a fluctuating tide
to a retaining structure can also be reduced with 10-20mm Leca® LWA limiting horizontal
pressures from the material being retained.

With deep compaction layers and speed of installation when using Leca® LWA
de-watering is kept to a minimum and the void filled in a fraction of the time compared
to using traditional fills. By depositing the aggregate directly into place from a boat
equipped with its own offloading gear, exceptionally fast progress can be made with
250-300 cubic metres per hour quite achievable.

The additional advantage in this location is one of an environmental nature.

Leca® LWA is a completely natural product, is an inert and stable material with no
risk of leachate seepage in to the surrounding waterway.

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 Other Uses 17
Sports Field Drainage
Over compacted soils can inhibit healthy root
development. Mixing Leca® LWA with soil will not only
ensure over compaction does not take place, it will also
assist with the balance of air and water to soil required
to promote healthy vegetation on:

Leca® LWA can be used as a structural soil by increasing the Leca® LWA to soils
mix for overspill car parking or grassed emergency vehicle access.
• Lawns Football fields with artificial turf can be used throughout the year providing all
• Golf Courses weather training facilities and because of better durability artificial grass can be
• Sports Pitches used more frequently than natural grass fields. In these instances Leca® LWA is
• Tennis Courts used for both efficient drainage and frost insulation and can reduce excavations
• City Parks & Landscaping and minimise both transport and installation costs.

Star City, Birmingham

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18

Walking Floor Trailer Typical capacity 70m³ - 100m³ Articulated Tipper Trailer Typical capacity 40m³ - 60m³

Transportation
Loose Bulk Leca® UK The table below compares the transportation of Leca® LWA to traditional
quarried aggregates in order to demonstrate the size of load available considering

Light weight makes Leca® LWA more economical to UK highway weight restrictions.

transport, typically needing a fraction of the number

Max trailer Vehicles per Leca® LWA Traditional quarried
of loads required by traditional quarried materials. capacity (m3) 1000m3 aggregate
This has obvious advantages in reduced transport
Walking Floor
100 10
costs, site management and timescale costs plus the Trailers l

environmental benefit of less haulage on the road.

Articulated 60 17 l
Tippers

6 -8 Wheeled
Rigid Tipper
11 91 l l

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 19

Over waterway Grand Union Canal, Milton Keynes Under track Whiteside footbridge, Bathgate

Transportation
Pneumatic Discharge
Rounded in shape and light weight make it possible to blow Leca® LWA into position. Using a trailer with auger
discharge Leca® LWA can be blown distances of >35 metres by hose into difficult to access areas. Benefits include
no storage or double handling, reduced plant, labour and timescales.

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20
Bagged Leca® LWA
Available in 50ltr bags, 1.2m³ and 2.2m³ bulk bags, Leca®
LWA can be lifted in to position where regular loose bulk
deliveries are not possible. At <20Kg, the 50ltr bag is
within HSE manual handling requirements for a one man
lift.

Social housing upgrade, Dudley Council

Available in 50ltr bags,

1.2m³ and 2.2m³
bulk bags

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Installation 21
Economical and versatile to place Leca® LWA is typically tipped into position, spread with a tracked excavator and
compacted by 4 passes of the same vehicle or, it can be pneumatically blown into position, which offers specific
benefits for some applications especially where site access is difficult.

Leca® LWA can be installed using machinery already in use on site

1 metre depth Leca® LWA Quarried
for the placement of other earthworks applications – unlike other of fill Aggregate
lightweight products that require costly, specialist equipment and

installation techniques.
Compaction
Layers
1 6

Passes to
compact
4 48

The pellets of Leca® LWA are round and find their position within bulk fill very
quickly when pressure is exerted. For this reason the layers to achieve adequate
compaction can be as deep as 1 metre, six times the depth of layer for traditional fill
material and with compaction more than ten times quicker to install.

Once compacted, the modulus of elasticity is 15-20MN/m2 and the maximum level
of effective stress to avoid crushing of grains is 100kN/m2. Increased loading can
be achieved by introducing a capping Layer such as subbase material or concrete.

Surplus can easily be disposed of - for example, if an embankment is for temporary

use, Leca® LWA can easily be reclaimed and re-used in a number of other locations,
unlike other man made materials destined for landfill and expensive landfill charges.

Full guidance is shown in the Leca® LWA Construction Control Document.

West Marsh Renaissance, Grimsby

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 QUALITY & ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS
Leca® LWA is produced in Denmark by Saint-Gobain Weber Leca® A/S.

Leca® LWA is produce in accordance with DS/EN ISO 9001 quality control system
and DS/EN ISO14001environmental control system.

RIGHTS
Leca® LWA is manufactured according to identical principles in Algeria, Argentina,
Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iran, Italy,
Norway, Portugal and Sweden.

The Leca® trademark is registered in 65 countries throughout the world and is also
registered as a European trademark.

The rights to the use the trademark Leca® is owned by Leca Trading & Concession
in Denmark.

Leca® Trading & Concession is part of the Saint-Gobain Group of Companies.

Leca® UK
Regus House, Herons Way
Chester Business Park
Chester CH4 9QR
T: +44 (0)8443 351770
F: +44 (0)1244 893323
E: sales@leca.co.uk

Civil Engineering | Leca Geotechnical Fill

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