October 1, 2019
By Robert M. Koerner In the late 1970s, I regularly invited speakers to make presentations to my geotechnical engineering classes at Drexel University. Two of them were very memorable: Bill Ragen of Mirafi and Bill Witherow of Carlisle. Their respective topics were “filter fabrics” and “pond liners,” and in truth I didn’t associate them with …
August 1, 2019
By Robert M. and George R. Koerner On Sept. 8, 1900, a Category 4 hurricane struck Galveston, Texas, which is situated on the Gulf of Mexico about 8 feet (2.4 m) above sea level. The storm created a 15-foot (4.6-m) storm surge, killing 8,000 to 12,000 people and causing massive destruction. Subsequently, four actions were …
June 1, 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 …
April 1, 2019
For the past 17 years, the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) has been accumulating data on failures of geosynthetic reinforced mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) retaining walls. We presently have 320 cases, of which 201 (63%) have been caused in whole or part by water within, or adjacent to, the reinforced soil zone. We sincerely hope that our …
February 1, 2019
The late Henry Haxo Jr., Ph.D., former president of Matrecon Inc., deserves considerable credit for developing many of the concepts and practices involved in waste containment liner and cover systems. Beginning in the 1970s, various projects, many of them funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), were actively researched. His capstone document is the …
January 11, 2019
The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) will sponsor a webinar “Geosynthetic Drainage Materials: Applications, Design, Installation and Performance,” on Jan. 24, 2019, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST. Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) member companies and their employees receive discounted rates on all GSI webinar and short course registrations. Geosynthetic drainage materials consist of a drainage core …
December 20, 2018
The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) will sponsor a short course “Quality Assurance/Quality Control of Geosynthetics in Waste Containment Facilities,” Jan. 14–16, 2019, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 3:30 pm EST. Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) member companies and their employees receive discounted rates on all GSI webinar and short course registrations. This …
December 18, 2018
The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) will sponsor a webinar “Pond Liner Design and Performance,” on Jan. 10, 2019, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT. GMA member companies and their employees receive discounted rates on all GSI webinar and short course registrations. The first ponds lined with geomembranes were installed in the 1930s. That said, the …
November 29, 2018
The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) will sponsor a webinar “Stability Designs of Landfill Cover Soils,” on December 12, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT. GMA member companies and their employees receive discounted rates on all GSI webinar and short course registrations. This webinar focuses on the stability design of relatively thin soil layers over geosynthetics …
November 21, 2018
The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) will sponsor a webinar entitled “Lifetime Predictions of Covered and Exposed Geosynthetics,” on November 28, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT. GMA member companies and their employees receive discounted rates on all GSI webinar and short course registrations. A most frequently asked question regarding all types of geosynthetics is, “How …