Earthworks & foundations

Earthworks are engineering works carried out in and with granular soils, i.e. the movement of earth by means of excavation and filling. Earthworks are one of the cornerstones of civil engineering and form the basis for other fields of construction. Foundation engineering comes under the heading of earthworks and includes all works concerning the subsoil. In addition to the actual construction works, this includes the design and calculations, which are based on soil mechanics.

Earthworks are of great importance for road and traffic route construction, railway construction, water engineering, landfill and tunnel construction. Professional earthworks require good preliminary construction design, a soil investigation and, depending on the complexity of the project, also a stability analysis. Typical earthworks include embankments, dams, ditches, excavation pits and backfill as well as suitable measures for improving the subsoil, such as soil replacement and soil improvement using suitable construction materials such as geosynthetics. Separating and filtering non-wovens as well as geogrids, woven fabrics, sealing membranes, drainage membranes and erosion control mats are widely used.