Soil Reinforcement

TRI/Environmental has steadily (often quietly) added to its testing and training business over the years, but 2008 may have its most significant. New hires (including industry veteran Rich Lacey) have strengthened the efficiency and skill of TRI's work; new testing equipment has greatly expanded the company's capabilities, especially in geotechnical areas; TRI has achieved AASHTO's American Materials Research Laboratory (AMRL) certification; electrical resistivity testing training continues with participants coming from all over the world; the Denver Downs large-scale testing facility is maturing; and much more. It's been an important 2008 and bodes well for a strong future. Read TRI's annual letter for the full story.

The North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS) and the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) have co-organized a series of geosynthetics short courses here in the second half of the year with the support of numerous industry sponsors and expert instructors. The organizers have regrettably announced, however, that next week's event in Atlanta has had to be cancelled. Learn more here.;

Register for the International Erosion Control Association's (IECA) EC11 by December 10 for the best rates. Don't miss your chance to attend industry-leading education, the largest expo of its kind and networking opportunities all at the world's largest soil and water event. EC11 will take place at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, Orlando, Florida, 20-23 February 2011. Learn more here.;

The Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) has opened exhibit booth space sales for Geo-Frontiers 2011 (13-16 March 2011, Dallas, Texas). The event brings together IFAI, the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Geo-Institute (GI) to co-organize this second Geo-Frontiers, the first of which was held in 2005. View the floor plan for exhibit space here. Learn more here.;

Download the European Wind Energy Association's (EWEA) offshore wind farm report in PDF. This July 2011 release includes details on the 4.5% growth in the sector through the first half of 2011 in Europe with 101 new offshore turbines adding 348 Megawatts (MW) of capacity.

Live and pre-recorded webinar-based and online education tools have expanded rapidly in engineering circles. The launch of Geo-U (www.geo-u.com) adds to this movement the insight of some of the...

Following the press release of 15 November 2010, Ten Cate Geosynthetics Asia announces the successful closing of the acquisition of the geosynthetics activities of Emas Kiara Industries Berhad, a publicly listed company based in Rawang, Malaysia. The completion of this transaction provides TenCate Geosynthetics with a significantly larger position in the supply of geosynthetics solutions to the Southeast Asian markets.

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...

TenCate™ Geosynthetics North America introduces TenCate Miramesh® SG, an open mesh biaxial geosynthetic, designed specifically to be a face wrap material for steepened slope applications. The integrated synthetic grass creates a finished face. TenCate Miramesh® SG combines the TenCate Miramesh® GR biaxial geosynthetic with synthetic grass green fibers to produce a finished grass face for steepened slope applications, without the need for natural vegetation. By eliminating the need for topsoil infill it immediately creates a finished vegetated face. Synthetic grass fibres provide an extra layer of UV-protection doubling the long term resistance, therefore increasing stability.

The American Public Works Association (APWA) is promoting National Public Works Week (NPWW) 16-22 May 2010. Each year, a promotional poster is sold and plays on the NPWW's theme. For 2010, that them is "Public Works: Above, Below, & All Around You" by illustrator Harry Campbell. Harry's distinctive graphic line illustration work can be found in most major publications including The New York Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek, and many others. The poster is available for purchase here. Learn more here.;

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...

In early August 2009, Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan. The storm was the deadliest typhoon ever to strike Taiwan. More than 450 people were killed, and initial estimates of the property, structure and infrastructure damage has been estimated at USD $3.3 billion. But one of the lessons learned in this typhoon is that geosynthetic reinforced structures can preserve infrastructure even against such a catastrophic event.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is holding a two-day conference 10-11 February 2010 at Drexel University in Philadelphia to explore the most environmentally safe methods to clean up and revitalize contaminated properties. The Green Cleanup Symposium will feature presentations from the nation's top thinkers on how to properly clean up abandoned or contaminated properties so that the land can be reused as a safe and sustainable community resource.

We're seeing a high volume of articles appear regarding how various states control fly ash disposal from coal-fired power plants. The Tennessee Valley Authority's ash reservoir collapse has highlighted how dangerous coal ash disposal can be--especially in the absence of regulation. The New York Times today has published a piece on the lack of regulation in this particular waste sector, and about the tremendous range of uses fly ash (including elevated arsenic levels) has been put to: road aggregate, agricultural soil stability, remediation, and much more. Learn more here.;

UK-based Applied Market Information (AMI) has launched the digital magazine Compounding World to cover compounding, masterbatch production, and the various materials and markets affected and influenced by these early points in the manufacturing chain. Many readers of geosynthetica will know AMI from its series of conferences around the world, such as Waterproof Membranes, Plastics in Underground Pipes, and Polymer Sourcing. Read the first issue (December 2008) of Compounding World online. Learn more here.;

When ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics meets in San Antonio, Texas (27-29 January 2010), the gathering will include a Geosynthetic Research Institute (GRI)/D35 joint workshop on durability. The workshop--"Geosynthetic Material Durability: Field and Laboratory Experiences"--will be held on 29 January. Download the official program here (PDF). Learn more here.;

Panama's coastal storms cause significant erosion issues. Punta Raton Beach exemplifies the challenges and how to overcome them. Limited space, steep and sandy slopes. Heavy rains and wind. In this...

ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics has revised D6637, "Standard Test Method for Determining Tensile Properties of Geogrids by the Single or Multi-Rib Tensile Method," as D6637-10. The determination of the tensile force-elongation values of geogrids provides index property values. This test method shall be used for quality control and acceptance testing of commercial shipments of geogrids. Learn more here.;

Royal Ten Cate has released an update regarding its first quarter 2010 performance. Of particular interest is the notes on the American geosynthetics market's "substantial recovery"; an upturn in the infrastructure market; and "strong developments in TenCate Geotube® applications." Read more in the release.

At the 9th International Conference on Geosynthetics (9ICG), held in Brazil in late May, Gary Ng was recognized as the winner of the International Geosynthetics Society's (IGS) first-ever photo competition. His shot of the NENT Landfill Expansion (Hong Kong) is certainly an impressive representation of the scale on which geosynthetics are being used today. See his work and other images submitted to the competition on the IGS website. Learn more here.;

The 3rd Geosynthetics Middle East (9-10 November 2010) will be held at Le Meridien Hotel in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Reda Ashkar, BMC Gulf, will serve as conference chairman. A call for presentations has been issued and abstracts are due to the conference manager, Irina Bender of SKZ by 15 April 2010. Read more about the event and the topics sought.

Iryna Popova, Director of EcoInform, has announced that a draft program is now available for the 6th Cooperation for Waste Issues conference, which will take place 8-9 April 2009 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Key topics at the event include municipal and industrial waste, radioactive waste, environmental compliance, biomass, energy generation, and much more. View the program today. Geosynthetica.net is a cooperating organization to the event. Learn more here.;

ASTM International has relaunched its website with nice new look. One of the most-welcomed additions to the update is a new navigation bar arrangement. With the vast amount of sectors ASTM's consensus-oriented standards committees are involved in--including our favorite, Committee D35 on Geosynthetics--the cleaner navigation tool is welcomed. Also of note, rotating news stories have been added to the front page, the site search tool has been improved, and the "My Committees" page has been streamlined. We encourage our readers to take a spin on the new ASTM website. Read more.

Shri Satyaprakash Singh, a regional manager (Polymer Business unit) at Reliance Industries Ltd., delivered an address on "Geosynthetics: Opportunities Ahead" during the mid-November Texcellence 2009 event in Ahmedabad, India. His presentation from the event is available for download to registered users of India-based textile website Fibre2Fashion. Learn more here. Learn more here.;

The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) has released its White Paper #26: "Need for and Justification of Quality Management Systems for Successful Geosynthetic Performance." In it, the Institute notes that despite 30+ years of literature documenting the great many successes with geosynthetics, three areas still have experienced types of failures that may "set the stage for the justification of quality management systems." These areas: holes in geomembranes, geotextile filter failures, and MSE wall failures.