Geotextiles in dams: Forging federal guidelines

August 1, 2008  |  Features

By Douglas A. Crum Abstract The major building era for large dams in the United States, from the 1940s to the 1970s, ended about the time geotextiles were becoming popular. For the last 40-plus years, geotextiles have been used in many dams worldwide for various applications. During this period, fed…
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Further comment on the impacts of water

August 1, 2008  |  News

To the editor: The article by Dov Leshchinskey in the April/May 2008 issue of Geosynthetics raises a number of interesting points on the impact of water, which all designers should consider in their wall designs. The principles of wall design and what should be considered are well-known; however, wh…
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Geosynthetic-reinforced levees performed well

June 1, 2008  |  Case Studies

Editor’s note: In the wake of ongoing public debate that continues to evaluate the construction designs of New Orleans area levees, the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) recently offered the following statement. Geosynthetic-reinforced levees challenged by Hurricane Katrina performed ex…
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North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS): Report of the biennial meeting

June 1, 2008  |  News

By L. David Suits Tuesday, March 4, 2008, Hilton Cancún Hotel The meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. by Grace Hsuan, president. Dr. Hsuan asked David Suits, executive director, to review the organization of the North American Geosynthetics Society. The following information was presented: …
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GMA sponsors “Bring your executive to Capitol Hill”

June 1, 2008  |  News

By Andrew Aho In April, members of Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) came to Washington, D.C., for the annual “Bring your executive to Capitol Hill.” The two-day event featured a dinner and reception with James Ray from FHWA, a GMA executive council meeting, issues briefings, and …
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Celebrating a decade of GSI/GRI polyolefin specs

June 1, 2008  |  News

By Bob Koerner From the very beginning of the GSI/ GRI consortium in 1986, it was recognized that specific focus groups were the way to initiate individual programs and documents. After a draft document is eventually established within a group, the entire membership is then brought into the activity…
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Industrial parks in the Middle East to convert polymers into value-added products

June 1, 2008  |  News

Local governments in the Middle East are showing mounting interest in converting polymers into products for export and local consumption to meet growing demand, according to several sources that monitor the plastics industry. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), a net importer of most plastics products, …
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Indefatigable nonwovens pioneer retires

June 1, 2008  |  News

During his nearly 4 decades with Fleissner, Alfred Watzl exerted a decisive influence on the development of nonwovens installations. Under his direction in sales and marketing, a variety of technical textile equipment innovations was developed, built, and sold worldwide, including the Fleissner &ldq…
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Geotextiles help create green clothing shop

June 1, 2008  |  Case Studies

A multilevel building in Seoul uses geotextiles planted with herbaceous perennials to form the living walls and an extensive green roof system. The blend of natural and artificial, the new Ann Demeulemeester fashion retail shop in the Gangnam district of South Korea’s capital city brings green…
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Third national paper MSE wall competition held at GeoCongress in New Orleans

June 1, 2008  |  News

By Dave Elton Eleven university teams competed in the 2008 GeoCongress student competition March 12 in New Orleans. The Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers took top honors, topping twotime reigning champion University of Missouri–Columbia. The Drexel University GeoDragons took second-place…
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