The International Geosynthetics Society’s French Chapter (CFG – Le Comité Français des Géosynthétiques) has published an English-language version of its key document Fascicle 10, “General recommendations for the use of geomembranes in barrier systems.” The resource, which is free for downloading on the IGS French Chatper’s website, pertains to design, construction, and site inspection. The CFG’s website has links to numerous other guidance documents in geosynthetics too.
Download the 80-page PDF of General Recommendations for the Use of Geomembranes in Barrier Systems directly
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS, GEOMEMBRANE BARRIER SYSTEMS
“General recommendations for the use of geomembranes in barrier systems” is intended to be used as a practical guide. The document’s objective is to provide general information about lining systems, and in particular about geomembranes themselves.
“The goal is to give professionals in this field the necessary elements to assist in the conception, implementation, control, reception, monitoring, and maintenance of the works in question,” the CFG notes in a release about the document’s English-language availability.
Included in the publication is a collection of definitions, information, and recommendations used by professionals in the field (e.g., project managers, contractors, laboratories, geosynthetic manufacturers, installers, etc.). Applications of note include:
- Hydraulic works (e.g., dams, ponds, canals)
- Containment structures for solid and liquid materials
- Roads and railways.
Roughly 20 CFG members participated in the updating of the guide between 2010 and 2016. Their work adds a substantial body of project and research insight to the original version of the to take into account the many technical and regulation evolutions since the publication of its original version of “General recommendations for the use of geomembranes in barrier systems,” which was first published in 1991.
The CFG itself is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Paris was the site of what has become known as the First International Conference on Geosynthetics (1 ICG, 1977, Paris). The activities of its chapter members over the years have been instrumental not just to the practice of geosynthetics in France but throughout the world.
“This guide of recommendations is essential for all professionals,” says Paul Guinard, President of APRODEG (French Association of Producers of Geomembranes) and moderator of the working group dedicated to the revision of Fascicle 10. “That is why, for the first time, the CFG has decided to publish it in English language with the aim of imposing it to the greatest number of professionals as THE reference for the implementation of geomembranes on all the hydraulic, containment, and platforms projects throughout the world.”
This new guide presents many evolutions, particularly for:
- Design: Integration of consequences classes concepts, requirement for a geotextile protection under the geomembrane, integration of certifications, definitions of minimum characteristics for geomembranes
- Realization: Recommendations for the realization of the support and the drainage, for the implementation of the geomembrane, the assemblies and the connections to the structures / upper layers
- Controls, insurance, and disputes: Advice on setting up controls, presentation of the roles of the various stakeholders, add-on insurance and litigation
Appendixes to the document provide a glossary, a bibliography and additional normative document listing, characteristics and minimum performance criteria/data for geomembranes, and specification development assistance.
Note that this document cannot be assimilated to a French homologation procedure and/or a French standard. Its use must stem strictly from a voluntary approach on the part of the user.
Learn more about the CFG at www.cfg.asso.fr.
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