"Catching Up With…" invites engineering and construction professionals working with geosynthetics to share their stories of recent activities: travels, site visits, event reports, lectures, current research, etc. For more information, contact the editor, Chris Kelsey.
I was in Australia in late May and early June for concrete liner failure litigation (10 days, 3 of them under cross-examination) and a presentation on high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembrane testing and durability to members of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) – Malek Bouzza, Mike Sadlier, John Barrett, and others.
Mike Sadlier showed me the Melbourne Water floating covers (HDPE, XR-5, and RPP).
He also took me to an Australian Rules footy game. I never realized the ball was fisted rather than simply thrown when passed. Those little breaks in any intensive work tour are always appreciated. Recommendation: while Waterside in Melbourne is a great place to stroll for dinner, try the smaller outdoor restaurants in Hardware Lane instead.
Next up: Auckland, New Zealand, to proctor International Association of Geosynthetic Installers (IAGI) certified welder tests at Permathene and to catch up with key personnel Chris Young, Nikolai Vakhroushev, and Matt Cossio. Three of their welders were fully certified.
THEN…
Onto Seoul, for research topic discussions with Professor Han-Yong Jeon at Inha University and a lecture on the testing of geomembranes to his research students. Prof. Jeon and company even presented me with a birthday cake, which was duly shared during the discussion session..
Then a plant visit to Saenal (in Gumi City), advanced weavers of polyester geotextiles, geotubes, and very sophisticated auto airbags. Gumi City is a very pleasant industrial city.
Additional discussions were held with Hyosung, the company that makes the fibers and yarns used by Saenal. Dinner with Saenal and Hyosung included another birthday cake with “Happy Birthday” being sung by 5 business men! I will not soon forget that! Discussions included differences in measurements of carboxyl end groups in the USA and Korea.
It was a long trip, indeed (3+ weeks) and was followed immediately by a liner leak location survey on a whaling liner in a small wastewater pond near Orlando, Florida, and a quick visit to TRI/Environmental in Austin to test and to discuss final details of the new smart Liner Integrity/Leak Location Survey Equipment.
Looking ahead to September: EuroGeo 4 in Scotland, a few days R&R in Prague, and another IAGI CWT course and lecture/workshop in Romania.
Ian D. Peggs, Ph.D., P.E., P.Eng., is owner of I-CORP INTERNATIONAL. He can be reached at icorp@geosynthetic.com.
"Cathcing Up With…" Issue 1: 31 July 2008.
