Ground Improvement

One of the fastest-growing markets for civil engineering in the United States is in capping coal combustion residuals. Tencate, one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of geosynthetics, has...

The 2014 World Bioenergy Award has been awarded to Jörgen Sandström from Sweden. He is head of the company Addax Bioenergy in Sierra Leone, which on a commercial basis is...

TenCate Geosynthetics is to open a plant in China this week. On Friday, June 13, parent company Royal TenCate, which is based in the Netherlands, will officially open the plant in Zhuhai. The plant's production will concentrate on markets in India and China and employ about 150 people. Learn more here.;

Maccaferri, whose geotechnical solutions include geosynthetics, gabions, rockfall netting, and other materials, is adding to the international body of information on rockfall barrier systems with a series of progressively tougher barrier system trials. These tests are revealing boundaries, potential failure mechanisms, and full strength capabilities of today's engineered systems. Learn more about Maccaferri's trials here and watch a video of their most recent test from Italy in which a weight equivalent to a tractor trailer was dropped from 125 ft. onto a barrier system. Following this trial's successful system performance, even larger tests are being planned.

Erosion, sediment, and stormwater runoff have an unquestionably critical impact on the quality of our environment. The EPA estimates that forthcoming new rules will cost more than $900 million annually to keep pace with site control needs. Commonly, the erosion and sediment controls that are selected are referred to as best management practices, or BMPs. But what puts the "B" in BMP? The National Transportation Product Evaluation Program (NTPEP) is utilizing large-scale erosion and sediment control testing to give BMP uses a truer sense of what really is going to be best. Learn more here.;

Two years ago the International Association of Geosynthetic Installers (IAGI) Board set up the IAGI Installation Awards of Excellence. The first Awards were handed out in 2011. The 2013 I^2 Awards are now open for entry. All IAGI members are reminded that this event, open only to projects on which they've worked, is free for them to enter. Deadline for submissions: 15 January 2013. Learn more.

In a 9-minute interview with Geosynthetica's Elizabeth Peggs, Maccaferri's Pietro Rimoldi discusses an extraordinary hybrid reinforced wall design utilized in Sikkim, India. The result is an 80m high structure...

Increased production capacity and the ability to dedicate an entire production line to research and development will be provided by Western Excelsior's addition of a sixteen foot wide RECP production machine. The new RECP production machine will be supplied by MST of Germany and is capable of producing blankets in widths of four to sixteen feet.

On 16 September 2010, CE News will host a webcast on "Green Solutions for High Flow Channels and Shorelines." This webcast will include a focus on designs using geosynthetically reinforced vegetated systems. Experts Jill Pack, Robert Lawson and Gabe Weaver from North American Green will cover current industry testing on reinforced vegetation systems, alternative designs to rock and hard armor, and how to offer green solutions for head-to-tail channel scour protection and shoreline stabilization. Learn more and register. Learn more here.;

The ongoing focus on sustainability in construction has contributed to greater interest in vegetative, or green, roof systems, in which traditional roofing material is replaced or supplemented with vegetation. A proposed new ASTM International standard will address an important aspect of designing this kind of roofing: determining the proper roofing and waterproofing membrane for a particular system. The proposed new standard, ASTM WK29304, "Guide for Selection of Roofing/Waterproofing Membranes for Vegetative Roof Systems," is currently being developed by Subcommittee D08.24 on Sustainability, part of ASTM International Committee D08 on Roofing and Waterproofing.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 hosts two meetings this week to update Kalamazoo area residents on portions of the Kalamazoo River Superfund site. A general site update meeting will be held Tuesday, 1 December, in Plainwell, Michigan. A meeting focused on the Allied Landfill portion of the site will be held Thursday, December 3 in Kalamazoo. Read more.

On Tuesday, 3 November, our engineer colleagues and friends Gaye Sprague and John Paulson were elected to their city councils. At a time when so much of American government is debating infrastructure, it seems especially relevant and important to have civil engineers serve in office. Read about them here.

More than two Europeans in three see climate change as a very serious problem and almost 80% consider that taking action to combat it can boost the economy and jobs, a special Eurobarometer survey published today shows. The poll, carried out in June 2011, found that the European public is more concerned about climate change than it was in 2009 - and that climate change remains a greater worry than the economic situation. Read more.

Presto Geosystems® has launched a new website (www.prestogeo.com) with a large range of construction resources for its soil stabilization and stormwater products. Much like the company’s successful international app...

Belgium-based EDANA--a nonwovens industry trade organization--has announced a date change for its Nonwovens Research Academy. The event has been moved to 16-17 November 2010 (still in Brussels, Belgium). This edition is co-organized with Institut für Textiltechnik of RWTH Aachen University (ITA). Learn more. Learn more here.;

A Tampa-area reservoir is showing cracks in the concrete and soil erosion control-lining at the edges. Designers did not want to use riprap. While a state damn inspector is coming to evaluate the site, Tampa water officials intend to fix the cracks with standard grouting. The fabric lining beneath is intact and providing stability in the meantime. Learn more here.;

Last year, Charlotte, North Carolina-based HUESKER hosted a high-level, invitation-only geosynthetics technical networking event called GeoPASS. The inaugural series delivered top-tier lectures and perspectives on diverse topics such as...

EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds (OWOW) has released a new 11-minute video, "Building Green: A Success Story in Philadelphia." The video features numerous short interviews and showcases green building methods being implemented around Philadelphia, such as green roofs, porous pavers for infiltration, solar panels, rainwater harvesting, reducing stormwater runoff, and much more. Learn more here.;

Geosynthetic reinforced soil structures (GRSS) have had a highly beneficial impact on infrastructure throughout the world. GRSS strategies, materials, and designs enable more sustainable projects, steeper slopes, safer retaining...

As supplies drop and demand rises, governments, companies and individuals look for cost-effective ways to save a limited resource: water. The January 2011 issue of Specialty Fabrics Review includes an article on this sector and how covers and liners are being used around the world. Read it online. Learn more here.;

Geomembrane and fabrication specialist firm BTL has issued its annual letter regarding holiday closure dates. The company and its staff will close for a holiday mid-day on December 23 and will reopen on January 5. Read general manager Ron MacKenzie's letter here.

LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) today announced that Bhavesh V. (Bob) Patel has been named senior vice president, Olefins & Polyolefins-Europe, Asia and International (EAI), with additional responsibilities for licensing and catalyst sales, effective immediately. Patel will succeed Anton de Vries who has departed from the company. Read more.

At the renowned Biosphere 2 research installation at the University of Arizona, geomembrane and synthetic turf systems are being tested on slopes. The exposed membranes have rigid solar panel units mounted on them. Project researchers hope to see systems like this appear on landfill caps and side slopes and near mine tailings. Learn more here.;

Golder Associates has an entry-level Laboratory Technician position open in its Atlanta, Georgia office. Specifically, the position will work in the Materials Testing Laboratory and Geosynthetics Laboratory. The technician will...

The Tennessee state legislature may be very close to the ratification of a new bill to require the installation of geosynthetic liners in all new or future expansions to coal ash storage facilities. Kingston, Tennessee, readers will recall, was the site of a massive coal ash pond breach in December 2008. That facility’s failure released 5.4 million cubic yards of contaminated ash across 275 acres. The estimated cleanup cost, announced in mid-February, will be $525-$825 million. Tennessee’s House of Representatives has signed off on the bill (SB1559), but changes in the bill’s language means it must revert to the state senate for an approval vote or further amendments. (Continued.)