TEXTILES.ORG
By Timothy D. Stark and Jennifer Miller
The Fabricated Geomembrane Institute (FGI) presented a one-day short course at the Sheraton Bogota Hotel in Bogota, Colombia, on Aug. 12, 2019. The short course was offered in collaboration with Filmtex, a geomembrane manufacturing company headquartered in Bogota, and the Colombian Chapter of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS). The all-day short course drew 49 registrants.
The excellent and timely presentations focused on the challenges and environmental concerns associated with mining, tunneling, water and waste containment technologies and how geomembranes and geosynthetics can be used to mitigate the concerns and risks. The beginning portion of the short course focused on geomembrane fabrication, installation, manufacturing and geosynthetics for civil engineering applications with five presentations. Dr. Timothy D. Stark of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign focused on the new FGI PVC Geomembrane Specification, factory fabrication and field installation, and the Columbus Water Reservoir Project. Juan Cortes and Myriam Acevedo of Filmtex provided insight into the latest advancements in geomembrane manufacturing. Camillo Marulanda of Ingetec Colombia, wrapped up the morning session with an informative presentation on the use of geosynthetics for dam applications.
The second half of the presentations continued the focus on various applications of geosynthetics in containment applications, as well as geomembrane seaming. For example, Marina Villaroel of Alphard (Canada) gave an informative presentation on geosynthetics for mining application. Julio Ferreira of TRI Environmental reviewed the best practices for developing leak location surveys and obtaining a zero leak containment system. Finally, Jorge Herrero Vega of Cesla Mexico, wrapped up the event with a presentation reviewing the general concepts of geomembrane seaming followed by an interactive welding demonstration that allowed attendees to weld and test geomembranes.
Many attendee questions, comments and experiences made the course a great success. The topics and speakers from the successful short course follow:
FGI Introduction, Activities, and Current Research: T. Stark (U. of Illinois)
Introducción Sobre la FGI, sus Actividades e Investigación Actual
Introduction to IGS Colombia Chapter: Mauricio Rendon (IGS Colombia)
Introducción a la Sociedad Internacional de Geosintéticos, Capítulo Colombia
FGI PVC Spec: scope, origin & description of properties – T. Stark (U. of Illinois)
Presentación Especificación FGI 6119 para PVC
Factory Fabrication & Field Installation – T. Stark (U. of Illinois)
Fabricación de Páneles en Planta e Instalación
Geosynthetics in Tunnel Applications – Chungsik Yoo (IGS President)
Aplicaciones de Geosintéticos en Túneles (Videoconferencia)
PVC Geomembranes Manufacturing – Juan Cortes & Myriam Acevedo (Filmtex)
Producción de Geomembranas de PVC
Columbus Water Reservoir & Geomembrane Seaming – T. Stark (U. of Illinois)
Reservorio de Agua en Columbus, OH y Sellado de Geomembranas
Geosynthetics in Dam Applications – Camillo Marulanda (Ingetec Colombia)
Aplicación de Geosintéticos en Represas
Geosynthetics in Waste Management – T. Stark (U. of Illinois)
Geosintéticos en Aplicaciones de Manejo de Desechos
Geosynthetics in Mining Applications – Marina Villaroel (Alphard, Canada)
Geosintéticos en Aplicaciones de Minería
Leak Location for Fabricated Geomembranes – Julio Ferreira (TRI/Environmental)
Detección de Fugas en Geomembranas
General Concepts of Geomembrane Seaming – Jorge Herrero (Celsa Mexico)
Conceptos Generales de Sellado de Geomembrana
Welding Demonstration – Jorge Herrero (Celsa Mexico)
Práctica de Sellado