GSI offers webinar on sand drains, wick drains and geotextile sand columns

The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) will offer a webinar on “Sand Drains-to-Wick Drains-to-Sand Columns,” on August 9, 2017, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT.

This webinar will begin with Terzaghi’s work (extended by Barron) leading directly to consolidation of saturated soils using the technique of sand drains. It then describes a case history failure resulting in a $6 million judgment against the design consultant. This project (and greater economic efficiency) led to the use of wick drains, also called prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs). They will be described and illustrated along with concerns of kinking and smear. The requisite research design will be numerically illustrated to arrive at a satisfactory factor-of-safety flow value.

This body of work on drainage, however, has a direct relationship on stability of soft soils using stone columns. Today, using columns of sand encased in a geotextile, we have a method to both simultaneously drain soft saturated soils and stabilize the site against shear failure as occurred in the case history cited previously. The technology, including its installation, has indeed come full circle.

The webinar will be taught by Dr. Robert M. Koerner, professor emeritus of civil engineering at Drexel University and director emeritus of the Geosynthetic Institute.

Webinars cost $200.00 for GSI members and $250.00 for nonmembers. Successful completion of a multiple-choice test after the webinar carries 1.5 professional development units.

For more information or to register, visit www.geosynthetic-institute.org/webinar.htm.