Yunnan Mountainous Area Irrigation Canal Seepage Prevention Project

Project location: Yunnan, China

Project background:

The terrain in Yunnan mountainous areas is complex, so it’s difficult to use traditional concrete seepage prevention for the construction difficulty and long maintenance period.

Actually, the existing earthen canal in this irrigation area has serious seepage. The water resource utilization rate doesn’t reach 60%, and there is a risk of collapse in some local slopes due to rainwater erosion. Therefore, a rapid, adaptable reinforcement solution is needed.

Project solution: Cement Mat Anti-seepage System (GCCM)

Functionally, it is defined as a pre-fused flexible engineering concrete. Designed for waterproofing and anti-seepage applications across diverse channels, its rapid hydration and adaptive installation are driving its global adoption as a high-efficiency alternative to cast-in-place concrete in hydraulic infrastructure.

Project construction:

The project is located in a mountainous area in Yunnan with an altitude of 2,200m, the total length of the channel is about 530m with steep slopes and sharp bends. It’s impossible for large machinery to enter and work. The construction team carries out operations in accordance with the terrain and hydrological characteristics:

Step 1. Adjustment

Adjusting the ground is the first and important step. The ground needs to withstand pressure to ensure the durability of the cement mat.

• Adjust the ground shape to form various structures, such as ponds, drainage ditches, etc.
• The slope should not exceed 45 degrees (depending on the soil properties)
• Compact the soil to make it firm and stable (the soil structure must be stable)
• Make the surface flat, which determines the beauty of the finished product

Step 2. Grooving

• Excavate a trench for laying the cement mat with the distance from the trench to the backfill layer not less than 50cm. The width of the trench is about 30cm, and the depth is 50cm. Then lay the cement mat and fix it with "U" shaped fixing nails every 1m.
• The cement mat should be laid tightly in the prepared area and should be laid from top to bottom.
• When laying, the edges of each piece should overlap, and the edges of the cement mat should be folded up. The overlapping part shouldn’t be less than 10 cm.
• Then we mix cement glue, mortar or structure material with water and stir to an appropriate consistency as the adhesive material between the pieces.

Step 3. Fixing

• Each piece of cement mat should be fixed with nails not less than 5 inches in length*, which should be fixed along the seam every 30cm, with the nails not less than 5 cm away from the edge of the cement mat.
• The fixing of the cement mat to the base material or surface should be done using "U"-shaped fixing nails not less than 30 cm in length*, fixed along the seam every 1m.

Step 4. Watering

• Water the cement mat evenly (not less than 5 liters/m²) .
• To make the finished product stronger, water should be applied once a day for 3 days.

More operation detail in this page:

https://www.zhonglonggeo.com/news/how-to-install-cement-mat-a-guideline-of-cememt-mat-installation

Project conclusion:

The entire project was completed in 3 days, which had a 70% increase in efficiency compared to traditional concrete on-site construction. In performance, new formed channel seepage layer is continuous and seamless, making water resource utilization rate improved to over 90%. The expected service life is over 10 years.

Contact us for quotation!

Sichuan Zhonglong Environmental Protection Co., Ltd.

📞Tel: +86 173 8021 9980

📬Email: sichuanzhonglong@163.com

🌐Website: https://www.zhonglonggeo.com/