Soil Reinforcement

The High Sheldon Wind Farm produces wind energy for the Town of Sheldon in Wyoming County, New York. The project has a maximum electric generating capacity of 129 MW and produces enough clean, renewable energy to power 60,000 homes every year. The major challenge facing the contractor was the potential rutting caused by the extremely high live loads on the turbine access roads. In order to support loading from equipment of up to 5000 psf, Fornit® 30 geogrids were installed to enhance the subgrade of the access roads on the site. This type of geogrid is designed reinforcement with confinement of finer aggregate. It was an ideal choice for the site. Read more.

Steel transmission pipelines going through mountain areas often face significant risks during their construction and service life. One of the biggest challenges is to protect the pipe and its external coatings against mechanical damage from impact and penetration. Vlad Popovici, writing in Pipelines International, looks at how pipes are protected, including through the use of nonwoven geotextiles. Learn more here.;

The St. Louis Chapter of the Geo-Institute is joining with the University of Missouri-Columbia and the Missouri University of Science and Technology to launch a new geotechnical engineering and geo-environmental conference: Geoconfluence. This annual conference will include papers and case histories focused on the geotechnical engineering and geo-environmental industry. This one-day conference is open to all and is scheduled for Friday, 28 October 2011. Dr. Robert Holtz from the University of Washington is scheduled to deliver the Terzaghi Lecture on Geosynthetics at this event. Download the event brochure (PDF). Learn more here.;

In an interview with Calcutta's Telegraph newspaper, A.B. Joshi, a commissioner from the Ministry of Textiles, is quoted as saying "We are going all out for promotion of geotextiles in the Northeast in a big way. Geotextiles [have] been accepted worldwide for enhancing the quality and longevity of roads, but [their] use in India has been minimal." This follows the presentation of the 2012-2013 budget. Included in the Twelfth Plan is a Rs 500 crore (USD $100 million) pilot scheme for the promotion and application of geotextiles in the Northeast. Weaving centers have been planned.

The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) is calling for submittals for Environmental Connection 2011 (EC11), annual conference and expo of IECA. Combining quality education with a world-class expo, EC11 is the premier gathering place for the erosion and sediment control community, drawing attendees from over 20 countries and 150 exhibitors to Orlando, Florida, 20-23 February 2011. The deadline to submit an abstract for the conference's consideration is 20 May 2010.

International geosynthetics manufacturer Tenax has added three geogrid reinforcement products to its US portfolio: Tenax TT, Tenax Rivel, and Tenax T-Block. Tenax TT is a chemically inert, high tensile strength, high density polyethylene geogrid for soil reinforcement applications. Tenax Rivel uses the TT geogrid in an integrated system with a metal formwork and vegetative matting. Tenax T-Block is a retaining wall system that utilizes Tenax TT geogrid reinforcement. Learn more at the company's website. Learn more here.;

Buffalo Bayou is a rugged part of Houston's past--a reminder of what the area looked like before massive urbanization. But the banks of the bayou have been eroding rapidly. The district spends millions each year in defense. And now home owners are laying out up to $150,000 to stabilize their shorelines. Learn more here.;

Tennessee-based Propex Operating Company, LLC recently concluded the company's first international sales meeting in Chattanooga, Tennessee. More than 100 sales representatives from around the world participated in the two-day meeting from January 29-30. Read more in the release.

ASTM International Committee D35 on Geosynthetics is reaching a major milestone. During the January Committee Week gathering in Houston, Texas, the Committee will mark its 30th anniversary with a...

The Army Corps of Engineers is expected to receive Disaster Relief Appropriations Act funding for the repair of Missouri River Basin levees that were heavily damaged by catastrophic flooding this year. The measure was approved Friday by President Barack Obama. "We expect a majority of qualified repairs to levees and our operating projects will be funded. This supplemental appropriation allows us to move from repairs to a 25-year level of flood risk reduction to making full repairs that offer greater risk reduction," said Brig. Gen. John R. McMahon, commander of the Corps' Northwestern Division.

Ian Peggs writes from Dubai: "One resin manufacturer, a geomembrane manufacturer, a design engineering representative, and a liner installer attended and participated in lively discussion during the day-long post-conference workshop on HDPE geomembrane. These workshop participants came from Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates and the workshop was led by Dr. Ian D. Peggs (I-CORP). Key topics included liner leak statistics, consequences of leakage, action leakage rates, finding the responsible leaks, and estimating the remaining exposed geomembrane lifetime." Read more.

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has an extensive video library that documents its work and the dedication of its personnel from around the state. In paving a 28-mile...

The Associated Press reports that another round of billions from the federal stimulus package in the United States will be released to the states over the summer. Among the many projects targeted, approximately 200 projects in rural waste and water systems will be performed by the US Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will expedite cleanup at 20 Superfund sites. US Vice President Joe Biden has added to the discussion that the stimulus work in the coming months will add roughly 600,000 jobs. A significant portion of those jobs will be part of the 1500 road projects aided by the next round of stimulus. Learn more here.;

The World Bank Group has announced that it has thrown open the doors to its statistical databases and is challenging the global community to use the data to create new applications and solutions to help poor people in the developing world. Recognizing that transparency and accountability are essential to development, the World Bank Group is now providing free, open, and easy access to its comprehensive set of data on living standards around the globe -- some 2,000 indicators, including hundreds that go back 50 years. The data will be available in Arabic, French and Spanish in addition to English.

For #ThrowbackThursday, we revisit the most popular project story on Geosynthetica from 2018. The story was originally published 29 January 2018, which gave Oriokot's article on the use of...

The newly constructed Arkun Dam hydropower facility on the Çoruh River (Turkey) would have been considerably more expensive if conventional concrete walls were used along the edges of the power station. NAUE Geosynthetics profiles the project and the reinforced earth option that was selected and which saved 40% on the cost for this portion of the project.

Updated March 24: We've added a seventh geosynthetics app, the EPI Geomembrane Product Locator, which was released in March 2017 after this article had already been compiled. Smartphones are ubiquitous,...

Consórcio vencedor do Trecho 1 escolhe a Geo Soluções para executar serviços geotécnicos da maior obra de infraestrutura da América Latina. A Geo Soluções foi a empresa escolhida pelo consórcio...

Low and Bonar PLC ("Low & Bonar" or "the Group"), the international performance materials group, today announces its half year results for the six months ended 31 May 2010. The company has reported "Strong and broadly based sales growth up 11.7% (14.1% on a constant currency basis)...with an impressive contribution from Colbond." Also, the companies grass yarn facility in Abu Dhabi has entered commercial production.

Updating flood maps in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA announced in 2007 that the five Metro East levees protecting the area since the 1940s were no longer adequate. Repairing the levees, county officials were told, would cost $120 million to $180 million. To meet the price tag, officials in Madison, Monroe and St. Clair counties set up an agency - the Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention District Council - and a new sales tax to fund the project. But two years later, the estimates have soared. According to the Army Corps of Engineers, the price tag could range from $300 million to $500 million. Learn more here.;

Writing for the December 2012 issue of Rebuilding America's Infrastructure, Jeff Fiske details how NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) selected Triton Marine Mattresses for bridge scour protection. The bascule piers to be protected support drawbridge gears and may also support a guardhouse on top of a key bridge in a KSC-controlled channel. The reinforced mattressed solution was selected for scour protection performance, constructability, adaptability, and durability in a challenging, submarine environment. Also, the coastal and waterway revetment system was much more cost-effective than the alternatives. Read it online. Learn more here.;

Mississippi is doling out money from its $5.4 billion Hurricane Katrina recovery fund. The Brookhaven community, for example, has received $665,000 for erosion control. The city will offer a $100,000 match. The Daily Leader's story, via Zwire, includes a breakdown of other recent awards in the state for shoreline repair, road construction, erosion control and much more. Learn more here.;

With the support of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS), North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS), the American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) Geo-Institute, the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI), and the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI), Geo-Frontiers 2011 is a can't-miss event. To keep readers abreast of the latest news leading up to the event and to highlight some of the conference and trade show's notable presentations and products, Geosynthetica.net has launched a Geo-Frontiers 2011 information page and e-newsletter.

Ace Geosynthetics supplied 3800 sqm of geogrid for the reinforcement of a vital embankment along the Shang-Kang, Taiwan high-speed railway. Read about this and other projects at Ace's case histories page. Learn more here.;

Global construction output will grow to US$ 12 trillion by 2020, a +70% increase on this year's figure of US$ 7.2 trillion, according to a new report by Global Construction Perspectives and Oxford Economics. The report, Global Construction 2020, goes on to say that half of the US$ 4.8 trillion increase will come from China, India and the US. Learn more here.;