TEXTILES.ORG
TenCate Geosynthetics announced that its Miragrid XT geogrid product line has completed the first-ever evaluation by the National Transportation Product Evaluation Program (NTPEP) that incorporated an on-site audit of the manufacturing facility.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), in conjunction with NTPEP, developed a process for the evaluation of production data and field performance data for reinforcement geosynthetics.
The data generated by NTPEP is valuable for state DOTs and other regulatory agencies to develop and maintain Qualified Products Listings (QPL). As of 2011, an audit phase was added to the evaluation process to verify the consistency of the geosynthetic reinforcement in accordance with the Report Special Advisory for Geosynthetic Reinforcement (REGEO) work plan.
“The project work plan developed by NTPEP, which now incorporates an on-site audit process, is among the most stringent review processes available for geosynthetic reinforcement materials,” said John Lostumbo, P.E., TenCate market manager for engineered structures. “We are excited to be the first geosynthetic producer to complete this evaluation process.”
The evaluation is performed in accordance with Washington state DOT Standard Practice T925 (WSDOT T925) to determine the long-term strength of the geosynthetic reinforcement, including the long-term strength reduction factors.
Detailed evaluations are performed on creep, installation damage, and durability to determine the appropriate reduction factors. Additional conformance testing is performed to provide verification of these reduction factors.
According to the report from NTPEP: “An on-site audit to verify the consistency of the TenCate Miragrid XT product line was conducted at TenCate’s manufacturing plant on June 8, 2011, in accordance with the REGEO work plan. The audit verified that the materials and processing used to manufacture each product in the line are consistent and meet the definition of a product line in the NTPEP work plan and WSDOT T925.”