The Soil Nail Launcher is a declassified British military tool that can accelerate a 1.5 inch diameter, 20 foot long steel bar to 220 miles per hour! As these high speed projectiles enter the earth, a shock wave is generated at the tip that causes the soil particles to elastically deform. The bar enters the earth without significant abrasion. The soil particles then collapse onto the bar, providing surprisingly high pullout resistance. Pullout of these Launched Nails is many times greater than for driven bars and rods.
The Soil Nail Launcher is typically mounted on a tracked excavator. However, it can be mounted on just about any vehicle or crane basket frame. The launcher weighs about two tons, making it portable and able to reach remote locations and hard to reach applications avoiding overhead wires, underground utilities and over safety rails. The Soil Nail Launcher is able to get in and out of almost any geological setting and can install over 100 nails each day.
In 1992 The United States Forest Service, the Federal Highway Administration and (4) state departments of transportation sponsored a demonstration project for Soil Nail Launcher. Those agencies spent over $250,000 and concluded that this new tool was a faster and less expensive way to install soil nails in some situations. Those agencies wrote a design manual for Launched Soil Nails.
Soil Nail Launcher has developed and improved tool and technologies to compliment the Soil Nail Launcher. The Super Nail™ series includes grouting and additional steel bars for higher capacity and longer life. The new Super Nailer™ can augment installation with drilling capability. Super Micropiles™ can be used to support structures such as our Geosynthetically Confined Soil Wall™, our most advanced retaining wall to date.