Skip to content

Shear Lock® Slope Retention Piles

Shear Lock® is an engineered slope retention pile system.

Shear Lock is an innovative and cost-effective way to prevent or repair shallow landslides.

Shear Lock uses tried, and true engineering principles combined with Shear Lock Piles to quickly and efficiently retain unstable material and ‘lock’ the potential shear failure plane. (Shear Lock Piles are a Registered Design of Cirtex®)

Many areas, especially around road and rail infrastructure, are characterised by steep and unstable slopes, causing landslides to block the road or rail network during frequent storm events. With the Shear Lock system, the slipped soil can be pushed back on to the slope and compacted into place, then stabilised by installing Shear Lock Piles in a predetermined grid pattern.

shearlock

The Shear Lock system is also commonly used when tension cracking or slumping is detected to reinforce the slope and prevent further damage. Shear Lock piles are made to order. Contact us.

Downloads

Frequently Asked Questions

The longevity of the system is a function of corrosion of the pile steel and will vary from site to site. Cirtex Shear Lock piles are hot-dip galvanized to prevent corrosion and the galvanising can be expected to provide protection for up to 50 years in most sites without loss of pile strength. The effects of sacrificial corrosion can be evaluated to provide design lives beyond the life of the galvanising if required.

Our standard design charts deal with slopes up to 35°. Steeper slopes can also be stabilised with specific engineering design.

At this stage, our modelling has been confined to failure planes up to 2.5m below the surface. We can provide Shear Lock Pile spacing charts based on research done by Tonkin & Taylor, however, site-specific inputs need to be considered in the final design.

Protecting the slope with a high performance turf reinforcement matting such as  T-Recs will assist with shedding surface water. Also, installing Plati-Drain horizontal wick drains into the slope will reduce pore water pressure.

The Shear Lock system, as with any slope stability system, is sensitive to ground water. This is considered in design and higher ground water levels require close pile spacing.

Benefits & Features

Shear Lock® Conceptual Overview

This 3D diagram shows an overview of the Shear Lock system, and how it works to reinforce slips.

Please note, this is not an installation guide and only acts as a concept.

Specifications

Code

Product

Size

76291 Shear Lock Piles N/A

Send us a message, we'll be in touch.