Item No.

4:- Designing, providing and constructing GABIONS with mechanically woven

double twisted hexagonal wire mesh of 4 mm dia. wire zinc plus 0.5 mm
thick PVC coated wire mesh with gabion baskets of size 1 mt x 1 mt x 0.5
mt filled with 30 to 50 kg trap rubble stone with mesh size of 10 x 12 cm
including packing, interlocking of stones, fusing top of gabions, tying
each other and laying to required line, level and slope with all leads & lift
including foundation and body of gabions, lacing and installation etc.
completed as directed.

1.0 Description

This work shall consist of furnishing, assembling, and filling mechanically woven double twist
hexagonal wire mesh gabions with rock as specified in the contract to the dimensions, lines and
grades shown on the plans, or as determined by the engineer. These specifications are mainly in
accordance with International Standards EN 10223& EN 10244.

1.0 Material

1.1 Mechanically Woven Wire Mesh Gabions

2.1.1 Wire

All tests on the mesh wire, lacing wire and selvedge wire must be performed prior to
manufacturing the mesh.

Tensile strength: The wire used for the manufacture of mesh shall have a tensile strength
minimum 380-550 N/mm2 in accordance with EN 10223-3.

Elongation: Elongation shall not be less than 10%, in accordance with EN 10223-3. Test must
be carried out on a sample at least 25 cm long.

2.1.2 Galmac Coating: Minimum quantities of Galmac (Zn 90% + 10% Al) shown at Table 2
should meet the requirements of EN 10244-2 (Table 2 and Class A).
2.1.2.1 Adhesion of Galmac coating: The adhesion of the Galmaccoating to the wire shall be
such that, when the wire is wrapped six turns around a mandrel having four times the
diameter of the wire, it does not flake or crack when rubbing it with the bare fingers in
accordance with EN 10244.
2.1.3 PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) Coating
The technical characteristics and the resistance of the PVC to ageing shall meet the relevant
standards. All tests on the PVC must be performed prior to manufacturing the mesh
PVC coating thickness: Nominal – 0.5 mm, Minimum – 0.38 mm;

Specific weight: 1.3 kg/dm3 – 1.35 kg/dm3 in accordance with ISO 1183.

Hardness: between 50 and 60 Shore D, according to ISO 868.

Tensile strength: Higher than 21 MPa, according to ISO 527

Elongation at break : Not less than 200% in accordance with ISO 527.

UV Stabilized

2.1.4 Galmac + PVC coated Wire Mesh dimensions

Mesh Wire: Diameter – Inner diameter shall be 3.0mm for the Galmac coated wire and when
measured with PVC coating the outer diameter shall be 4mm. ID/OD 3.0/4.0mm.

Selvedge Wire: Diameter –Inner diameter shall be 3.4mm for the Galmac coated wire and when
measured with PVC coating the outer diameter shall be 4.4mm. ID/OD 3.4/4.4 mm.

Mesh Opening: Nominal Dimension D =100mm, as per Fig. 2.

2.1.5 Lacing wire and internal stiffeners for gabions

Lacing wire: Diameter – Inner diameter shall be 2.2mm for the Galmac coated wire and when
measured with PVC coating the outer diameter shall be 3.2 mm. ID/OD 2.2/3.2mm

Stiffener wire: Diameter -Inner diameter shall be 3.0mm for the Galmac coated wire and when
measured with PVC coating the outer diameter shall be 4.0mm. ID/OD 3.0/4.0 mm

Table 1: Wire mesh (10x12 mesh type):

Galmac+PVC coated

Diameter of wire (Inner/Outer wire)

Mesh type “D”(mm)
Mesh wire(mm) Selvedge wire Lacing wire(mm)
(mm)

10X12 100mm 3.0/4.0 3.4/4.4 2.2/3.2

Tolerances in Mesh Opening size “D”: - 4% and +16%

Figure 2-Mesh Type

Mesh Type Nominal Dimension

10x12 D = 100mm D

2.1.6 Tolerances
Wire: Wire diameter tolerance and minimum Galmac coating requirement is given in the
following table 2. Wire tolerances (Table 2) shall be in accordance with EN 10218-2.

Gabions:± 5% in all dimensions (length, breadth and height) shall be allowed as tolerance for
Gabion units.

Mesh opening: Tolerances on the hexagonal, double twisted wire mesh, opening shall not
exceed -4%-+16% on the nominal dimension D values (see Fig.2).

Table 2-Standard Mesh wire Properties

Internal Wire Dia mm 2.2 2.7 3.0/4.0
Wire Tolerance(+)mm 0.06 0.06 0.07
Minimum Qty of Galmac(gm/m2 ) 230 245 265

2.1.7 Standard Sizes

Standard sizes (Length x Breadth x Height) of gabions are 4mx1mx1m, 3mx1mx1m, 2mx1mx1m,
1.5mx1mx1m, 4mx1mx0.5m, 3mx1mx0.5m and 2mx1mx0.5m.

2.2 Fabrication

Gabions shall be manufactured with all components mechanically connected at the production
facility. The front, base, back and lid of the gabions shall be woven into a single unit. The ends
and diaphragm(s) shall be factory connected to the base. The lid may be a separate piece made
of the same type mesh as the basket. All perimeter edges of the mesh forming the basket and
top, or lid, shall be mechanically selvedge with wire having a larger diameter.

Gabion is divided into cells by means of diaphragms positioned at approximately 1m centres.

The diaphragms shall be secured in position to the base so that no additional lacing is necessary
at the jobsite.

Table 3 - Typical Gabion sizes (10 X 12 -mesh type)

Length, m Width, m Height, m Number of

Diaphragms
4.0 1.0 1.0 3

3.0 1.0 1.0 2

2.0 1.0 1.0 1

1.5 1.0 1.0 0

4.0 1.0 0.5 3

3.0 1.0 0.5 2

2.0 1.0 0.5 1

2.3 Rock
The rock for gabions 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. Gabion rocks
shall range between 0.15 m and 0.25 m. The range in sizes shall allow for a variation of 5%
oversize and/or 5% undersize rock, provided it is not placed on the gabion exposed surface. The
size shall be such that a minimum of three layers of rock must be achieved when filling the
gabions of 1m thick.The stone for filling the gabian shall weigh 30 to 50 kg.

3 Construction Requirements

Gabion filling and lacing and erection at site should be strictly as per the instruction of approved
(by engineer) manufacturer’s instructions as per the site specific requirements. The manufacturer
should satisfy the eligibility criteria outlined in Clause 7.

3.1 Assembly

Gabions are supplied folded flat and packed in bundles. Larger units may be supplied in rolls.
The units are assembled individually by erecting the sides, ends, and diaphragms, ensuring that
all panels are in the correct position, and the tops of all sides are satisfactorily aligned. The four
corners shall be connected first, followed by the internal diaphragms to the outside walls. All
connections should use lacing wire as described in Section 2.1.5.

The procedure for using lacing wire consists of cutting a sufficient length of wire, and first looping
and/or twisting the lacing wire to the wire mesh (Figure 3). Proceed to lace with alternating
double and single loops through every mesh opening, pulling each loop tight and finally securing
the end of the lacing wire to the wire mesh by looping and/or twisting.

Figure 3

3.2 Installation

After initial assembly, the gabions are carried to their final position and are securely joined
together along the vertical and top edges of their contact surfaces using the same connecting
procedure(s) described in Section 3.1. Whenever a structure requires more than one layer, the
upper empty baskets shall also be connected to the top of the lower layer along the front and
back edges of the contact surface using the same connecting procedure(s) described in Section
3.1.

3.3 Filling
Gabions shall be filled with rock as specified in Section 2.3. During the filling operation some
manual stone placement is required to minimize voids. The exposed faces of vertical structures
may be carefully hand placed to give a neat, flat, and compact appearance.

The cells shall be filled in stages so that local deformation may be avoided. That is, at no time
shall any cell be filled to a depth exceeding (0.30 m) higher than the adjoining cell. It is also
recommended to slightly overfill the baskets to allow for settlement of the rock. Behind gabion
walls, compact the backfill material simultaneously to the same level as the filled gabions.

3.3.1 1m High Gabions

1meter high gabions shall be filled in three layers, 300 mm at a time. Connecting wires shall be
installed after the placement of each layer, that is, at 300 mm high.

3.3.2 0.5m High Gabions

0.5 meter high gabions do not require connecting wires unless the baskets are used to build
vertical structures. In some cases, these units shall be filled in two layers 250mm at a time.
Connecting wires shall be installed after the placement of the first layer, which is at 250mm high.

3.4 Internal Connecting Wires

Internal connecting wires should be used when a structure requires layers of gabions to be
stacked on top of each other. Internal Connecting Wires shall connect the exposed face of a cell
to the opposite side of the cell. An exposed face is any side of a gabion cell that will be exposed
or unsupported after the structure is completed. Lacing wire or prefabricated internal connecting
wires may be used.

3.5 Lid Closing

Once the gabion baskets are completely full, the lids will be pulled tight until the lid meets the
perimeter edges of the basket. The lid must then be tightly laced and/or fastened along all edges,
ends and tops of diaphragm(s) in the same manner as described in Section 3.1.

3.6 Mesh cutting and folding

Where shown on the drawings or otherwise directed by the engineer, the gabions shall be cut,
folded and fastened together to suit existing site conditions. The mesh must be cleanly cut and
surplus mesh either folded back or overlapped so that it can be securely fastened together with
lacing wire or fasteners in the manner described in Section 3.1. Any reshaped gabions shall be
assembled, installed, filled and closed as specified in the previous sections.

3.7 Filling of Gabion with Rubble with use of planks or boats or barge in deep water
near and surrounding pier location

4.0 Method of Measurement

The payment quantities for excavation shall be determined by the outside limits of the gabion
structure. Quantities will be determined from cross sections and the linear distance, and paid for
under the appropriate bid items. The rate include the charges of boats, planks or barge for
transporting gabions with filling of Rubble.

The quantity to be paid for “In place gabions” shall be the cubic meter of gabions of irrespective
sizes. Project conditions and material availability will determine the actual size of gabions to be
used.

Excavated material beyond the limits of the gabions shall be backfilled with gravel, crushed rock
or other material approved by the engineer.

5.0 Testing and Acceptance criteria

The material should get approval from the client before the actual supply start. The manufacturer
of the Gabion facing unit should provide “Manufacturers Test Certificate’ and Quality Conformity
Certificate for the material with every lot/shipment. Tensile strength test and zinc coating test on
basic wire shall be done on one sample per every 5000 numbers of units supplied.

5.1 PVC Coating Thickness: The thickness of the PVC coating shall be determined on a
randomly chosen individual piece of wire removed from the coil at 3 places 1 metre apart.

Measure with a micrometer the diameter of the galvanized steel wire with PVC coating.
Determine the thickness of the PVC coating by stripping the PVC coating from the wire and
measure the reduced diameter with a micrometer. The thickness of the coating is the difference
between the diameter of the galvanized steel wire with PVC coating and the measured diameter
of the galvanized steel wire divided by two. The thickness values should be as per clause 2.1.3.
While removing the PVC coating by stripping, take care not to remove any of the metallic
surface.

5.2 PVC Coating – Resistance to Sodium chloride solution:

Apparatus: Chamber or room where the temperature is between 5oC and 30oC, Weighing
balance accurate to within 0.1 mg, Test tube.

Reagents – Saturated Sodium Chloride solution

Preparation of test specimen – Bend a 200 mm long piece of PVC coated wire into a U – shaped
that it can fit in to the test tube.

Procedure – Weigh the test specimen and put it in the test tube. Fill the test tube with the sodium
chloride solution such that the ends are 5 mm above the solution. After at least 60 hours remove
the test specimen from the solution, wash it, dry it and reweigh it. There shall be no loss of mass.
6.0 Eligibility of Manufacturer

The flow chart of quality procedures adopted in the plant should be submitted to the client for
getting the source approval.

Manufacturer shall have experience in supplying, designing and providing Technical support for
Gabions for Retaining walls / Scour Protection / Erosion Control. The manufacturer shall have in-
house design facilities to provide site specific design. They shall also give the required technical
assistance at site. The manufacturer shall produce an authentic documentary evidence to prove
minimum 5 year experience for supplying, designing and providing technical assistance at site
for Retaining Wall works for a minimum quantity of 5,000 Cum.

7.0 Basis of Payment

Accepted gabions will be paid for at the unit price for each pay item included in the contract.