STRUCTALITE RETENTION SYSTEM
STRUCTALITE RETENTION SYSTEM
Overview
As sustainable products become more prevalent in the rail industry and beyond, we identified the need to develop a more sustainable ballast retention system that will offer a reduced weight, remain undamaged during transportation, and wouldn’t crack when installed or when under load.
After more than a year of development and stringent testing, as well as obtaining engineers’ calculations, the model was ready for the market. The STRUCTALITE Retention System provides a modern and innovative solution to the shortcomings of traditional materials, such as concrete. It is comprised of pultruded glass-fibre reinforced polyester (GRP) composite ballast boards designed for ballast retention, cess walkways and structural earth containment in rail and civil infrastructure environments. The system includes using a ‘H’ or Tee section steel post that has bracketry which mounts onto the in-ground steel that will convert into a handrail, or it can be fixed to our ARCOSYSTEM® bracketry.
This innovative system saves separate installation and money, as it offers the opportunity to add or make changes in future without huge cost. Most of the concrete and lightweight ballast board systems currently used require two-man lifting as they weigh between 20-60kg depending on the model. One of our composite ballast boards weighs just 6.1kg/m, thereby significantly reducing both installation costs and on-site injuries to installers.
The GRP pultruded profile provides anti-corrosive and anti-UV properties for a long life, with no maintenance required.
The STRUCTALITE Retention System is suitable for a multitude of uses, such as protecting railway tracks and trackside facilities on embankments from the likes of rockfall or snowslide.
STRUCTALITE RETENTION SYSTEM
At a glance
- CCS composite ballast boards that make up the STRUCTALITE Retention System have a minimum lifespan of 80 years
- Maintenance free
- Lightweight boards ensure easier handling, reducing on-site injuries and installation times.
1 CCS ballast board = 6.1kg/m - Eco-friendly — number of boards supplied in a 18-tonnes delivery:
CCS ballast boards = 1440 vs concrete ballast boards = 300
(almost 5x more fuel used to deliver concrete)
Amount of carbon dioxide emissions released into the atmosphere to produce 1 ballast board:
CCS ballast board = 3.9kg CO2 vs concrete ballast board = 19kg CO2 - Structurally sound — the boards enjoy composite action, meaning stacked boards act as a single wall, not individual sections of a wall
- Composites are inherently robust and excellent at resisting & absorbing impact
- The outer surface is protected by a polyester veil for UV protection
- Suited to a temperature range of -40˚C to +80˚C
- Independently verified life cycle assessment (LCA) carried out as part of Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) — see official published document in the ‘Technical Information’ section below
Technical
Documentation
View the technical information for this product here
You will need a password to access some of this information, contact us here to request access.
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CCS ballast boards promotional flyer June 2023
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CCS Ballast Boards EPD certificate November 2023
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STRUCTALITE Retention System promotional flyer June 2026
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STRUCTALITE Retention System Technical Data Sheet June 2026
Materials and
performance
The STRUCTALITE Retention System from CCS is made up of composite ballast boards manufactured by pultrusion from specially selected unsaturated polyester resins, reinforced with dedicated glass-fibre reinforcement packs. The polyesters are UV inhibited to protect from sunlight, and have inherent water and corrosion resistance, proven over decades of use in marine and corrosive environments.
The glass-fibre isophthalic reinforcement provides the structural strength of the profiles, which is pre-determined by the geometry of the reinforcement pack used within the profiles during manufacture.
The open cell, tongue-and-groove construction allows interlocking panels to be stacked one on top of another — our 300mm-deep panels can be stacked up to three high to create a robust 900mm-high retaining wall capable of withstanding heavy forces.
Our 1830mm-length panels are less than a fifth of the weight of the concrete panels they replace, ensuring easy handling and rapid installation.
The boards can be easily cut to length on-site, whereas reducing the length of concrete boards exposes metal reinforcement that will rust, and ultimately result in failure.
Design and dynamic testing data to confirm performance is available on request by contacting our technical experts.
The STRUCTALITE Retention System is designed, developed and manufactured by Complete Composite Systems Ltd, and is available from our exclusive UK stockist Scott Parnell.