Reflections on sustainability with respect to geosynthetic materials
June 1st, 2019
By Robert M. and George R. Koerner Listening to and reading the news, there seems to be regular criticism of all plastics insofar as concerns as to their post-use disposal in light of their exceedingly long lifetimes. Rarely, if ever, is the distinction made as to which plastics are really necessary to society and which […]
McCartney letter and IGS-NA happenings
June 1st, 2019
By John McCartney I am excited to start my two-year term as the president of IGS North America. I am joined by an active and engaged set of board members, including John Allen (president-elect), Ranjiv Gupta (treasurer), Ben Leshchinsky (secretary and vice president), Kate Patterson (vice president), Bruno Herlin (vice president), Tim Stark (vice president), John […]
Using geosynthetics in flexible airport pavements
June 1st, 2019
By Benjamin Mahaffay, Jeremy Robinson, Jeffrey Gagnon and Gregory Norwood FIGURE 1 Post-test excavated cross section In recent years, there has been an increasing interest to improve pavement structures through mechanical stabilization by incorporating geosynthetic products within the structure. The Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) has identified eight categories of commercially available geosynthetics: geotextiles, geogrids, geonets, […]
Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust foundation improvement
June 1st, 2019
The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. Photograph courtesy Belzberg Architects The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust needed a foundation improvement solution for its new and innovative earth-sheltered facility. Jon Irvine, the project engineer, of Irvine Geotechnical Inc., suggested using a mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) mattress as an affordable alternative to overexcavation and replacement. […]
Clarifying the nomenclature of Elvaloy-based geomembranes: EIA, EIP or KEE
June 1st, 2019
By E. Silva and T. D. Stark Since the first flexible membrane liner (FML) was used as part of an environmental liner system, the geomembrane industry has always looked for innovative solutions for chemical containment applications. Although there have been many innovations over the last 50 years, one of the most significant is the introduction […]
Solmax introduces RockArmour geomembrane for oil and gas pipeline protection
June 1st, 2019
Solmax has partnered with Rock Armour LLC to introduce an innovative rockshield pipeline protection offering to the oil and gas industry. RockArmour is a conductive geomembrane material designed to shield pipelines from rock impact damage during backfilling and problems caused by land movement after pipeline installation. RockArmour is made of a perforated, conductive low-density polyethylene […]
Tenax launches a composite for retaining gravel
June 1st, 2019
Italian company Tenax’s new product GRAVEL LOCK is a geocomposite made up of a cuspated, rolled high-density polyethylene geogrid coupled with a polypropylene nonwoven fabric. It is ideal for creating draining and stable gravel floors for pedestrian and vehicular passage. The shape in rolls and the reduced amount of gravel required for filling (less than […]
Women leaders in textile industry share expertise—and encouragement
June 1st, 2019
More women than ever now own textile companies, and IFAI’s recent Women in Textiles Summit brought together many of these business leaders to share their unique expertise within a highly specialized industry. This year’s inaugural summit, held March 6–8 in Savannah, Ga., facilitated what IFAI President and CEO Steve Schiffman calls an “investment in the […]