Geosynthetics wins gold award
February 1st, 2007
Geosynthetics magazine was recently cited with a Gold Award/Best Technical Article for the story and graphics in the June/July 2006 issue titled “Back to the beach in Mexico.” “Back to the beach in Mexico: Shoreline restored with geotextile tubes as submerged breakwaters” was originally written by Enrique Álvarez, Ramiro Rubio, and Herbert Ricalde. The article […]
Thanks and thanks again!
February 1st, 2007
To the editor: I just read the October/November 2006 edition of Geosynthetics. Thanks for your coverage of the recent U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/Steve Stockton presentation to your Geosynthetic Materials Association Executive Council. Also, thanks for GMA’s support of the Water Resources Development Act of 2006. It is good to know that organizations like yours […]
Horses and the land: Geosynthetics help to improve riding trails
February 1st, 2007
Professor worries animal that helped tame America labelled as enviro outcast. By Tom Lollis Clemson University professor Gene Wood has two great passions—horses and the land. He hopes the two are never separated because of a dispute over natural resources. “The horse is burned into the American psyche,” said Wood, a forest wildlife ecologist. The […]
Using structured geomembranes in final solid-waste landfill closure designs
February 1st, 2007
By Ronald K. Frobel, MSCE, P.E. Introduction Slope failures on final cover systems for solid-waste landfills have been well-documented during the past 20 years with many failures of note within the past three years. Sliding failures have occurred despite known geotechnical reasons for failures and known design methods to avoid slope failures. Many of these […]
Five-year CalTrans freeway project is nearing completion in San Diego
February 1st, 2007
From the 2006 International Achievement Awards for Geosynthetic Projects Introduction In an effort to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety conditions in northern San Diego, the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) is adding lanes and creating a truck bypass at the Interstate 5/805 junction. A unique portion of this project is the construction of a […]
Massive mining evaporation ponds constructed in Chilean desert
February 1st, 2007
The Salar de Atacama in Chile is the site of the largest PVC geomembrane installation in the world—more than 16 million m2 utilized in mining operations since 1996. By Dominic Berube,1 Patrick Diebel,2 Andre Rollin,3 and Timothy D. Stark4 The largest PVC geomembrane installation in the world is so immense that it can be seen […]
Liner integrity/leak-location survey: The significance of boundary conditions
February 1st, 2007
By Ian D. Peggs Introduction A geoelectric integrity survey was requested on a new landfill cell with the following lining system from the top down: 18 in. sand Geotextile/geonet/geotextile composite (geocomposite) Primary geomembrane Geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) Geomembrane (rub sheet) Geocomposite Secondary geomembrane Prepared subgrade There was no sand above the primary geomembrane in half […]
Junction-strength requirements for roadway design, construction
February 1st, 2007
By Barry R. Christopher Introduction Currently many engineers are confused about junction-strength requirements for geogrids used in roadway base reinforcement and subgrade stabilization applications, primarily because of commercialism of junction strength requirements. Some promotional efforts recommend relatively high junction strength, while others dismiss junction strength altogether. Confusing? At least one local public agency specifies a […]
Overview of GSI’s surveys
February 1st, 2007
By Bob Koerner It appears to this writer that any forward looking decisions—business or otherwise—should be made on the basis of factual information from the past. My son sent an E-mail to me stating: “Without data, yours is just another opinion!” One step further in gathering this data is that the information is obtained via […]
GMA-Mexico offers classes
February 1st, 2007
The Mexico office of the Geosynthetic Materials Association designed and delivered two courses last fall. One was for the Mexican Army’s Departament of Engineering; the other with open enrollment for civilian engineers and academics. The military engineers were very receptive last September to see new materials and tools to use in finding solutions in their […]