Soil Reinforcement

For more than 20 years, HUESKER has been involved in the mining sector. Recently, however, the company has felt that the market for geosynthetics in mining has not been...

Save USD $200/night at the GeoAmericas 2016 hotel! Organizers for the 3rd Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics have announced an extension on the conference rate for rooms at the Loews...

Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important issue in the construction industry. At the same time, sustainable building also involves the use of sustainable building materials. As the first manufacturer...

BASF SE, the world's biggest chemical company, said it plans to outpace the expected 5 percent annual growth in the global plastics market by boosting operations in Asia. BASF's plastics division will report higher sales and a "significant" improvement in earnings in 2010, board member Martin Brudermueller reiterated at a press conference in Frankenthal, Germany. Demand in Asia will grow at 6 percent a year through 2015, he said. Learn more here.;

Maccaferri will be attending the 42nd Annual Southeastern Transportation Geotechnical Engineering Conference (STGEC) at the Marriott in Charleston, West Virginia, 4-7 October 2010. Stop and visit with us at Booth 33. Maccaferri managers will be available to discuss and answer all your questions concerning erosion control, slope reinforcement and rockfall solutions. Read more.

The extended abstracts call for the 12th International Conference on Geosynthetics (12 ICG) closes February 28! Be sure to submit your project, research, and application abstracts on time. 12 ICG...

In Indiana, the Union-Go Dairy, which experienced a very frustrating but fascinating animal waste lagoon failure in 2008 has received approval to expand its farm with the installation of new lagoons. Following that phase of the project, the dairy will work with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) on what to do about the failed lagoon. One of the interesting aspects to the whales that developed in Union-Go's installation is that they were concentrated on one half of the lagoon. Learn more here.;

The International Association of Hydro-Engineering and Research (IAHR) will hold a workshop on "Geosynthetics and Modern Materials for Coastal Proction and Related Applications" on 6-7 August 2010 at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM). This event is being organized in conjunction with the 9th International Conference on Hydro-Science and Engineering (ICHE 2010). Read more about the presentations.

Riva Nortje, the vice president of the Geosynthetics Interest Group of South Africa (GIGSA), reminds members that the biennial Gigsa awards are due by 30 June 2011. Categories include "Development in Technology" and "Construction." She notes that the GIGSA committee intends to issue these awards during the two-day short course to be presented by Professor R. Kerry Rowe at the Centurion Council Chambers on 6-7 September 2011. That course topic is "Geosynthetics in bottom liners and covers for use in lagoons, secondary containment, landfill and mining applications".

On November 15 at 1:00 pm EDT, Maccaferri will host a webinar on "Gabions and Reno Mattresses in Hydraulic Applications." Topics for this engineers, planners, developers and contractors-oriented session include channel bank protection; drop structures; culvert inlet and outlet protection; and bridge abutment scour protection. Attendees will receive a non-credit 0.15 CEU certificate following the webinar and a link to download handouts, technical data sheets, product specifications, product installation guides, a gabion installation video, case studies, and design software. Learn more here.;

Earlier this year, Dr. Gary Fowmes received a £125,000 (USD $190,000) grant to continue research into the use of 3D printing in the design and performance of geosynthetic materials....

Congratulations are due to International Geosynthetics Society Past President Jorge Zornberg! Dr. Zornberg, P.E., F.ASCE,  is one of the most influential and active practitioners in geosynthetics. A new lecture...

Ian Peggs writes from Dubai: "Day 2, now, from Dubai and SKZ's 2nd International Conference on Geosynthetics Middle East. About 85 registrants in total are here. A couple of geosynthetica underwriters spoke early on with Oliver Detert (Huesker) presenting interesting research test data on geogrid-reinforced bridge abutments Ivica Ducik of Colbond discussing interesting multifunction applications of Enkamat S-based composites with a primary function of sound and vibration control." Read more.

GeoAmericas 2016—the 3rd Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics—will be held at the Loews Hotel on South Beach in Miami, Florida 10 – 13 April 2016. The event will continue the...

Tensar International, the leader in geosynthetic soil reinforcement and stabilization, has completed a major investment in its Morrow, GA geogrid production plant. The facility's new extruder is now operating at full capacity, offering additional production capacity to help meet growing demand for Tensar® TriAx® Geogrids. The new extruder can run multiple resin types and allows the facility to run longer production campaigns. Significant growth of TriAx® Geogrid sales prompted the investment.

When Tony Allen, P.E., was at work on his civil engineering master’s thesis at Oregon State University in the early 1980s, he certainly couldn’t have foreseen the impact it would have during the next 30 years on geotextiles and geogrids in reinforcement applications. Of great importance, the work he pursued then (and since) has led to real understanding of the durability of geosynthetic reinforcements. Read more about the impact T925 has had on reinforcement design and specification in the United States and internationally. The article, from Geosynthetica's Chris Kelsey, appears in the May 2010 issue of CE News. Learn more here.;

By Preston Kendall – The International Geosynthetics Society has set a goal of getting geosynthetics engineering information into undergraduate civil engineering programs. This is being accomplished in part through...

The 3rd Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics (GeoAmericas 2016) will be held 10 – 13 April 2016 in Miami at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel. The event's organizers have announced...

Ecopetrol, one of the principal petroleum companies in Latin America, has been expanding its reach deeper into the forests of Colombia. Drilling exploratory wells in remote locations such as the Putumayo basin concurs with a very aggressive growth strategy. The area around Orito is an extremely dense, undulating forest with poor soils and wet subgrades, nearly impossible to drive through without proper access. In this case study, Geo Products shows how access was made possible with the support of a cellular confinement system. Learn more here.;

A breakthrough in the construction of earth retaining structures in Saudi Arabia using technology from Tensar International has provided a safe and rapid solution to building 8m high bridge wing walls at two major infrastructure projects in Jeddah. The four major new bridge embankments are the first geogrid-reinforced soil modular block retaining walls to be constructed in Saudia Arabia and the first reinforced soil structures to be constructed in Jeddah. The solution overcomes the challenge of aggressive soil chemistry in the region, which had earlier caused the Saudi Ministry of Transport (MOT) to rule out the use of reinforced soil structures.

Geofabrics Australasia has developed a web-based road design app focused on drainage performance and cost calculation. Subsurface Drainage Design Software (SuDDS) produces net cost and design comparative reports based...

Over the past few years, the American Public Works Association (APWA) has spearheaded a new sustainability vision for the public works management field. Two key investments have been made and show great promise for the future: APWA launched a smaller, sustainability-focused conference three years ago; and, this year, it has officially launched the APWA Center for Sustainability. These issues are pretty all-encompassing, and since the initial discussions within APWA creating the APWA Center for Sustainability have become hot button points across the country. For example, low-impact development (LID), sustainability's return on investment, best management practices, and much more. The public works field needed some pro-active guidance and resources. APWA has taken that lead.

The Executive Board of Royal Ten Cate (TenCate) has appointed Dave Clarke (52) as new Global Group Director TenCate Advanced Composites, effective 1 January 2011. The Executive Board of Royal Ten Cate has appointed Wally Moore (46), former Group Director TenCate Geosynthetics Europe, as Global Group Director TenCate Geosynthetics, effective since 1 July 2010. Jorg Huber (66), the current Global Group Director TenCate Advanced Composites, will retire from TenCate at the end of this year and will continue to share his experience with TenCate as an external member of the Board of Royal Ten Cate USA.

At its peak and not long before it made landfall in Rockport, Texas, Hurricane Harvey was rated a Category 4 storm. It was the first major hurricane to make...

Tensar Corporation has announced the sale of its Tensar Polytechnologies Inc. (TPI) assets and business to Conwed Plastics, LLC for an undisclosed amount. TPI manufactures and distributes Light Weight Oriented Net (LWON), which is used in the manufacturing of erosion control blankets, carpet padding and numerous other industrial products. "This sale will enable Tensar to focus our U.S. production capacity on our more strategic and rapidly growing geogrid business," stated Don Meltzer, President and CEO of Tensar.