Ground support systems such as anchors, soil nails, and rock bolts are used in civil engineering construction projects to stabilise slopes, walls, and tunnels. Anchors transfer tensile loads into the ground and can be either temporary or permanent depending on their design life. Permanent anchors have double corrosion protection. Soil nails and rock bolts are bar anchors that are usually passive but can be active or pre-stressed. They are often used with cement grout or resin to stabilise slopes, tunnels, and walls. Soil-nail walls are built from the top down using soil nails and reinforced concrete in stages with excavation between. Slope stabilisation techniques must be chosen based on failure mechanisms and assessed risks to

1. DEPARTMENT OF
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Ground Support Systems
Er. Ramprasad Kumawat
(M.Tech)

2. Ground Support Systems.
• Optimising space, achieving suitable
alignments of roads and railways, or safety
within an inhabited environment are, among
many other situations, scenarios that often
challenge the effect of gravity when it comes
to construction, requiring feasible ground
support systems.

3. • An anchor is a system used to transfer tensile
loads to the ground.
• Depending on the design life of the anchor, it
is classed as either a temporary or a permanent
anchor.
• Permanent anchors usually have double
corrosion protection.
• Ground anchors are always active, i.e. once
injected and the grout has set, they are stressed
up to the required load.
Anchors, soil nails and rock bolts

4. Anchors, soil nails and rock bolts

5. • Soil nails and rock bolts are bar anchors that
are normally passive, although they can be
active, or be pre-stressed with a small load.
• The tendon is a steel or fibre rod which is
usually injected with cement grout or resin,
and may also have double corrosion
protection.
• They are often used to stabilise slopes, tunnels,
walls, etc.

6. • Soil-nail walls are built top-down, using soil
nails and reinforced concrete.
• It is a reinforced earth system for ground
support.
• The excavation is carried out in stages,
carrying out the soil-nails and shotcreting
operations at each level before continuing with
excavation.
Soil-nail walls

7. Soil-nail walls

8. Slopes stabilisation and protection
• Making the right choice about which
techniques to use in slope stabilisation and
support depends on the exact knowledge of the
potential failure mechanisms, ground
movement rates and the geometry of the
failure.
• For this reason, a risk zoning procedure needs
to be carried out, assessing the danger,
vulnerability and degree of exposure.

9. Slopes stabilisation and protection

10. • In this way remediation measures are defined,
which can be active, with the aim of ensuring
the permanent stabilisation of the slope;
• or passive, the purpose of which is to avoid
• or mitigate potential damage caused by the
failure, in the event of localised rock falls or
slope erosion, for example.

11. Slopes stabilisation and protection

12. • THANKS!