The Fabricated Geomembrane Institute (FGI) is an industry-sponsored Institute at the University of Illinois focused on advancing the use of fabricated geomembranes through education, research, and technology transfer. FGI invites members and industry professionals to explore its new website at www.fabricatedgeomembrane.com.
One of the highlights of the new website is a pond liner calculator tool. The resource, housed in a spreadsheet, is based on Darcy’s Law. User-added project information helps the calculator return the volume of the basin in gallons and a comparison of leakage rates between the compacted soil layer and a synthetic membrane both in gallons and dollars.
FABRICATED GEOMEMBRANE INSTITUTE RESOURCES
“The Fabricated Geomembrane Institute website is intended to highlight FGI research, short course information, testing specifications and guidelines, member information, geomembrane and equipment guides, technical papers, and articles,” the group writes in a statement.
The site also gives users access to technical journal articles, access to past short course presentations, and various industry information such as Fabricated Geomembrane Institute monthly minutes, survey results, and more.
Dr. Timothy D. Stark leads the FGI and is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. For more information on the Fabricated Geomembrane Institute’s work and membership, www.fabricatedgeomembrane.com or contact Dr. Stark at +1 217 333 7394 or tstark@illinois.edu.
WHAT ARE FABRICATED GEOMEMBRANES?
Fabricated geomembranes are geosynthetic lining materials that are flexible enough for panels to be joined in a factory environment to create large “single” panels of material that may be folded, rolled, and transported efficiently to a containment site. There, the large panels are unrolled into position and unfolded without damage. This reduces the number of seams that must be conducted in the field, which facilities faster, lower cost installations. Standard testing verification methods are available to ensure the factory seam quality too.
Applications of note include aquaculture, canals, decorative ponds, exposed or floating covers, hydrocarbon containment, reservoirs, sewage lagoons, tank liners, mining works, wastewater, and more.
