GSI offers webinar on geosynthetics in erosion control

The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) will offer a webinar on “Geosynthetics in Erosion Control,” on September 13, 2017, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT.

The estimated cost of landslides in the United States is $2 to 5 billion; worldwide, it may approach $10 billion. The many landslides triggered by surface erosion is a major contributor to these enormous costs.

While the mechanisms of soil erosion are well-known (consisting of detachment, transportation and deposition), its control is largely empirical. This webinar will present various approaches using:

• temporary biodegradables (natural materials)
• long-term polymeric (geosynthetics)
• hard armor systems (stone, concrete, etc.)

Full-scale field tests in Cincinnati, Ohio, will substantiate the positive influence of turf reinforcement mats and product testing including ASTM (small scale), TRI (large scale) and field test sites. The webinar features two design approaches with numeric examples: the USLE method for slopes, and velocity/shear stress methods for channels and ditches. They will be critiqued accordingly. A summary of the webinar and recommendations will be offered including an appeal for instrumented field monitoring research and subsequent analytic modeling.

This webinar is appropriate for public and private owners of housing, industrial, recreational and related projects in terrain where slopes are natural or constructed; consultants and designers in the private sector; regulators and agency personnel at the federal, state and local levels; geosynthetic manufacturers and their representatives; geotechnical and geosynthetic testing organization personnel; contractors and installers of erosion control systems; academic and research groups; and others desiring technically related information on this important aspect of our constructed environment.

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.