Geosynthetic reinforced soil walls as integral bridge abutments

April 1, 2011  |  Case Studies

From ER-2010 / Earth Retention Conference #3 By Michael R. Simac and David J. Elton Introduction The first use of geosynthetic reinforced soil walls for integral bridge abutment construction in North America occurred on the Greenville Southern Connector (Interstate 185) toll road in 1999. A second b…
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‘Old-timer’ recalls the history of geomembrane interface strength tests (Part 2)

April 1, 2011  |  Features

By Allan J. Breitenbach, P.E. Editor’s note: Author Breitenbach’s treatise recalling geomembrane testing in days of yore started with Part 1 in the February/March issue of Geosynthetics. He continues in Part 2 with an examination of several related factors that influenced liner interface…
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Utah’s Trax line now built to the airport

April 1, 2011  |  Case Studies

Project basics The Salt Lake City Airport Trax Line is a six-mile light-rail extension that will connect with the existing Trax system at the Arena Station, located at 400 West and South Temple. When completed, the Airport Trax Line, combined with the University Trax Line, will connect the top three…
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Highway reconstruction on soft soils not a problem with geofoam

April 1, 2011  |  Case Studies

By David Shong and Nico Sutmoller Once a thriving industrial suburb of Chicago that was sometimes called the Steel City, Gary, Ind., has seen a gradual decline in its industrial base and population. Indiana’s fifth-largest city was hard hit by the decline in steel mill employment but has recen…
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Ongoing geocell discussion

April 1, 2011  |  News

Editor’s Note: The following comments were submitted regarding the GMA Techline article “Geocell application,” from the April 2010 Geosynthetics. Comment From: Suprio Re: Geocell on soft subgrade In case if a layer of geocell is placed on a soft subgrade of say CBR value 1, then wh…
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Zero cohesion

April 1, 2011  |  News

Editor’s Note: The question below was submitted regarding the Richard Thiel article “Cohesion (or adhesion) and friction angle in direct shear tests,” from the April 2009 Geosynthetics. Comment From: Leo Posted: Oct. 3, 2010 | 11:12 p.m. What happens if you force the line of best f…
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Protecting pipelines

April 1, 2011  |  News

Editor’s Note: The comment below in response to the February–March 2010 Geosynthetics article “Geotextiles are protecting pipeline.” Comment From: Gholamhosein Posted: Feb 22, 2011 | 5:22 am CST Re: Protecting pipelines My research results prove that the buried pipelines can be p…
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Interface friction info

April 1, 2011  |  News

Question From: Scott Posted: March 8 | 9:16 am CST Is there any interface friction information available between PVC to RCSPE layers? Response Dr. Robert Koerner, GMA Techline Scott, We have a rather large database of interface friction values (as do others) but not for that specific combination of …
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The raw material?

April 1, 2011  |  News

Editor’s Note: The following question is in response to “Geotextile tubes provide hurricane protection for Cancún beach,” a short article that appeared in a sister publication of Geosynthetics—Specialty Fabrics Review magazine. A reader asked about the raw material for…
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GMA comments on EPA process for Superfund sites

April 1, 2011  |  News

By Boyd Ramsey and Andrew Aho The Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) participated in a public listening session held by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) March 30, 2011. The session was held in Albuquerque, N.M., and addressed the topic of vapor migration as a component of the sel…
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