Armorflex 165, Technicrete’s erosion control system that provides an alternative for a wide variety of erosion control and drainage projects, was specified for the recently completed Attenuation Pond for EnviroServ at their Rosslyn premises.

Armorflex blocks offer an excellent lining for drainage channels. At aprons at pipe inlets and outlets, Armorflex eliminates pipe undercutting that can lead to severe problems such as surrounding bank failure and siltation downstream. 

The Rosslyn project ran from February to June 2019 and was undertaken by MK Africa Civils. “We have worked with MK Africa Civils on other projects, and we understand that at times, all does not run smoothly on-site. Upon excavation of the pond’s designated area, unexpected rock was discovered which had to be removed with chemical blasting before the required pond level could be reached. We halted deliveries of the Armorflex 165 loose blocks to site until the blasting issue had been resolved” said Luan van der Berg, Sales Consultant for Technicrete.

“We supplied 7,000 square meters of Armorflex 165 blocks for the Attenuation Pond which will serve as a storage for run-off dump water and any other excess water components at site. The product was supplied in palletized loose block form for manual installation, which upon completion formed the Armorflex mat formation”.

“The beauty of the Armorflex system, is that it is flexible and sophisticated in design, conforms to ground contours (even if settlement occurs after installation and the blocks have a specially tapered design to allow for this flexibility), settles without fracture, and requires only limited ground preparation” van der Berg concluded.

Technicrete manufactures the Internationally Licensed Armorflex system in South Africa. It is the only system available locally with the facility to wire tie adjacent blocks together into long mats. The interlocking design allows the surface to remain flexible to movement, eliminating the cracking and spalling issues that plaque solid concrete surfaces, even when exposed to regular inclement weather. The openings in each block and between blocks are perfectly sized to benefit from enough vegetation growth to make the surface appear ‘natural’ whilst still maintaining structural integrity.

Amorflex is suited to other drainage applications such as ditch linings, spillways, headwalls, sediment basins and traps, pipe inlet protection, and protection of barriers.

Technicrete and Rocla are part of the Infrastructure Specialist Group of companies (ISG).