During the GeoMEast 2018 conference, Kent von Maubeuge will deliver the Koerner Lecture. The affiliated paper (“Geosynthetic barriers in regulations and recommendations in line with the ISO design guide?”) has been published online by Springer’s journal Innovative Infrastructure Solutions. As of the publication of this story (October 22), von Maubeuge’s geosynthetic regulations lecture is currently open for all to read online and download (with credit to Kent von Maubeuge and Springer for enabling the share).
READ & DOWNLOAD THE LECTURE
STATE OF GEOSYNTHETIC REGULATIONS
“Geosynthetics cannot be specified purely on properties,” von Maubeuge writes. “Most regulations describe material properties in detail or refer to existing specifications. However, some regulations show a shortage on other relevant design parameters, such as design issues, external effects, durability issues, installation considerations and/or quality control/assurance.”
These thoughts are shared by many in the field. In addition to the GeoMEast 2018 conference in Egypt, similar cautions and calls to action were plentiful in the sessions in Korea at the 11th International Conference on Geosynthetics. The International Geosynthetics Society has helped elevate the conversation too with its technical workshops.
Importantly, ISO’s Technical Committee 221’s working group WG6 has developed a technical report (ISO/TR 18228-9:2018(E) “Design using geosynthetics—Part 9: Barriers”), which may also be read as a design guide. Kent von Maubeuge’s article offers this forthcoming report as a strong example of how to move forward.
“[The report contains] recommendations and guidance for the design of geosynthetic barriers in geotechnical applications,” he writes. “It provides design guidance over various applications, design lives, material types, parameters and site specific conditions.”
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The full geosynthetic regulations lecture addresses key barrier sectors, such as landfilling, mining, environmental protection, water conveyance, and coal ash storage. It also provides significant description of the evolving ISO approach to standards with geomembranes, geosynthetic clay liners, and other barrier system elements.
Geosynthetica recommends that its readers view the article. It’s an important conversation in the field and one to which more voices will soon be added.
READ & DOWNLOAD THE LECTURE
Kent von Maubeuge works for NAUE GmbH & Co KG, an international manufacturing and geosynthetic design company. He serves as a chairman for ASTM Committee D35 Subcommittee D35.04 (Geosynthetic Clay Liners); CEN TC189/WG6 Barriers; and the International Geosynthetics Society Technical Committee on Barrier Systems (TC-B). With ASTM, he has chaired workshops on GCLs, including the multi-component GCL symposium of 2012. Additionally, Kent von Maubeuge also lectures on geosynthetics at the University of Applied Sciences Bielefeld and the University of Applied Sciences Ostwestfalen-Lippe in Germany.
Learn more about GeoMEast 2018 here.
