4 Reasons to watch out for the increasingly growing Geocell market

1. 4 reasons why I believe the
time is now for the Geocell market
Hillit Noy
Feb, 2019
3 minutes read

2. Geocell technology is a
market that continues to
grow and adapt to meet
the evolving needs of our
infrastructure.
The increasing cost savings
in road construction and
maintenance contributes to
the anticipated growth of
this market.

3. To understand the potential-
The Global Geosynthetics
Market is expected to be worth
22 billion USD by 2026, growing
at an exponential CAGR of 10.1%.
Geocell, the three-dimensional
honey-comb shaped
geosynthetic, one of the fastest
growing market within the
Geosynthetics, is projected to
reach 6.9 million USD by 2022, at
a CAGR of 8.0%.

4. Geocells are used in all
surfaces of the
transportation industry,
including roadways,
airports, railroads, and
waterways.
Tests on problematic section of Amtrak's NE Corridor with NPA Geocells reduce maintenance
Geocells have been demonstrating
the most significant cost savings in
road and railway construction and
maintenance, by eliminating the
need for high-quality construction
materials, and while improving the
strength of the structure for long
term applications.

5. “Data analysis showed a
significant reduction in pressure
at the ballast/subgrade interface
on the order of 50%, as well as a
corresponding reduction in the
rate of degradation-on the
order of a factor of 6+”
A recent study by the USA Federal
Railway Administration (lead by Allan
M. Zarembski & Joseph Palese),
showed that the application of
Geocells for track systems can
correct surface degradation
problems, under high-speed
passenger railroad operations:

6. “The increasing demand of
Geocells in road and rail
applications is accounted for the
emergence of this solution,
mainly as it offers an alternative
to costly granular materials and
to distant quarries which require
costly transport to the site”.
Eng. Itay Asoolin, soil
reinforcement expert at one of
the leading geo-technical
engineering firms, has been
watching this construction trend
for over 15 years:

7. Here are 4 of the prominent
growth factors that the Geocell
market is witnessing:

8. ONE:
Rapid infrastructure and
road developments
worldwide;

9. The growing infrastructure activities
across the globe are driving the
geocells market, as these composites
offer high quality and are a cost-
effective alternative in various
applications.
According to the American
Association of State Highway and
Transportation, approximately 20%
of roads worldwide fail due to
insufficient structural strength.

10. This sheds some light over the
Increasing investments in
infrastructure by both developing and
developed countries, that are driven by
governments’ challenge to
manage available natural and financial
resources, on construction,
maintenance and rehabilitation of
roads and transportation platforms.
Authorities have been searching for
innovative roads stabilization
techniques, which offer a suitable
reinforcement alternative to the
conventional method, that improves
the overall structural strength, reduces
operational costs, minimizes
maintenance requirements and uses
on-site or recycled materials.

11. TWO:
From product to method:
Engineered Geocell Design
Tools;

12. The use of geocell, especially for
roadway/ railway applications,
however, was limited by a lack
of understanding of
mechanisms and influencing
factors for geocell
reinforcement, and a lack of an
established design methods.
Lately, Research on exploring
geocell reinforcement for road and
railway applications has been
ongoing with some of the world
leading research institutes in
cooperation with infrastructure
engineering firms.

13. The laboratory experimental
studies demonstrated that in
terms of increased stiffness and
bearing capacity, wider stress
distribution and reduced
permanent deformation- all
contribute to prolonged
roadway and railway life.
This comprehensive research also
resulted in a new geocell design methods
for road and rails applications, which
assisted in identifying different types of
geocells, the influencing factors of
effective geocell reinforcement, and in
predicting its effectiveness in improving
road and railway performance.

14. “NPA geocell reinforcement
increased the stiffness of the
granular base course by up to 2 times
and the bearing capacity by up to 2.5
times… The geocell with a higher
elastic modulus material produced
greater improvement.” (Jie Han, Pokharel and
Thakur, Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at the
University of Kansas).
In addition, the recent Dutch Geosynthetics
Engineering Institute published the national
engineering guidelines for the Geocell solution.
Among the guidelines, the report stresses the
crucial engineering properties/ tests that predict the
behavior of the geocell under loads and over time:
elastic stiffness and creep resistance (resistance to
permanent deformation).
I will cover the difference between the types of
Geocells and its significance in an additional story.

15. THREE:
From an unregulated to a
regulated market;

16. While mechanistic-empirical
methods have been calibrated
and verified for the first time,
the growing number of construction
and infrastructural projects lead to
more and more supportive government
policies, and these regulations are
projected to boost the geocells market.

17. by promoting regulations and testing
standards in its major roads, railway and
highways, using Geocells. The design
methods are a huge factor in this global
race for regulatory standards, as these
assist engineers design, plan and assure
design quality.
It has been said that the absence of quality
control in developing countries was one of the
factors that restrained the growth of the
market, but today it appears that more and
more countries, such as China and India, are
contributing to the growth in the geocell
market,

18. FOUR:
Sustainability is becoming
profitable;

19. Sustainability is a global trend of
awareness, but as a regulated
practice, it is shared only
between very few countries
where government encourage
smart use of resources.
This means, that there is still time
for sustainability to become
globally profitable, but until then,
the raising awareness brings to the
table not only considerations of
avoiding a global crisis, but also
those of smart resource
management.

20. In this sense, what the geocell
mechanism technology has to
offer is just this - manage
resources in a smart way by
using what is available nearby,
and preventing crisis by building
reliable infrastructure that is
prepared to perform in any
condition. After all, a crisis cant be
a crisis if your foundation is
reliable.

21. the fact that smart resource
management is gradually
becoming profitable-
are the most significant factors
driving the growth of the
geocells market today.
Put together-
the combination of the increased
global infrastructural activities,
the establishment of design
methodologies and tools, the
developing standards for testing
facilities and regulations,

22. and that regulatory standards
are in line with the engineering
guidelines of international
geosynthetic and fabric
associations.
But while only time will tell how well will
the geocell market live up to the promise,
it is certain that the awareness about this
technology is raising forcefully in
economies worldwide, and it appears it is
only a matter of time until construction
standards formally incorporate geocells
as a basic construction material,
Hillit Noy
contact@hillitnoy.com