Soil Reinforcement

Checkmate Geosynthetics Ltd., a global manufacturer and supplier of geosynthetic soil reinforcement and stabilization solutions, has announced the appointment of Jim Penman as the company's Vice President of Sales USA. In his new role, Atlanta-based Penman will be responsible for Checkmate's full-range of geosynthetic system products within the US market. Penman is a 17-year veteran of the geosynthetics field and serves as a geosynthetics expert for the American Railroad Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA).

Steve Warner, the long-time president of the Roseville, Minnesota-based Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI), and the IFAI Board of Directors have announced that he is stepping down. Among its many activities, IFAI organizes conferences and seminars, including a number of geosynthetics-related conferences. The association also publishes Geosynthetics magazine. Warner has been with IFAI for 35 years and has served as its president for a quarter century.

Tensar Corporation, a leader in geosynthetic soil reinforcement and stabilization, is making a major investment to increase the output capacity of its geogrid production plant in Morrow, Georgia. Expansion in the production will come on stream in 2012 enabling an increase in output of 30 percent. Don Meltzer, CEO, has said the demand for the TriAx line of geogrid is motivating the facility's expansion.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent, nonpartisan entity, is tasked with investigating how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars. Among its central work is auditing agency operations for or advising agencies on more efficient and effective spending considerations. It stands as no small matter, then, that two Congressional figures have submitted a letter to the GAO requesting the performance of a study "to investigate the life cycle costs and benefits of incorporating innovative materials in pavements." Geosynthetics can play a welcomed role here. Read more.

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.;

Syntec has announced the introduction of its new line of integrally formed biaxial and uniaxial geogrids. Syntec SBX biaxial geogrids are made of polypropylene (PP) using punched and drawn technology. The company's UX-S and UX-W series of uniaxial geogrids are produced of high density polyethylene (HDPE) with the same technology.

HUESKER Synthetic GmbH writes on the beneficial impact reinforcement geosynthetics (e.g., geogrids) have on the reduction of greenhouse gases in construction. The company writes, "whether or not it is about building a house, acquiring a new car or choosing a new power supply company, sustainability is to an increasing extent a core selection criterion for consumers. Only if a house meets the latest requirements on insulation or even if it can be classified as a low energy house does it satisfy the aspirations of the modern householder. When making their decision to buy a new car, the following criteria play an increasingly important role. It should not only have as much power as possible, but it should also have low fuel consumption and create low CO2 emissions." Read more.

Under the Patronage of the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City, the 2011 GEOSYNTHETICS Middle East Conference is taking place on 25th and 26th October at Park Rotana Hotel with the collaboration of AHK the German Chamber of Commerce. With a focus on the regions infrastructure projects and environmental applications, the Geosynthetics Middle East 2011 will once again contribute to the quality of the construction projects throughout the region, increasing their value and considerably extending their service life.

TenCate Geosynthetics North America is seeking a new Engineering Business Manager for its West Coast and Midwest territories. The EBM is responsible for marketing TenCate Geosynthetics' products and services to the specifying community, which includes geotechnical and civil engineers. EBM will be assigned target locations and will work with Region Manager(s) to develop and implement a plan for each location. Learn more about the responsibilities on Geosynthetica's Employment Page posting.

The Army Corps of Engineers and city officials of Dallas unveiled changes to the 100-year flood plan to upgrade the Trinity River levees. Although the changes were developed during a break that the agency took to study a new risk assessment approach, the new plan does not reflect a new strategy, according to Corps officials. "I can sum up two reasons of the pause. The first was to explore the new risk assessment process. And the second one was to continue to explore more cost effective methodologies for 100-year-fix," said Richard J. Muraski Jr., commander of the agency's Fort Worth district. Learn more here.;

When filmmaker Hugh Hunt began production on the documentary "Dambusters: Building the Bouncing Bomb," he sought a dramatic form of authenticity to understanding the 1943 RAF attack on dams in Germany's military industry-heavy Ruhr Valley. The raid utilized the unique "bouncing bomb," most of the technical aspects of which were lost in a 1960s flood. Hunt sought a construction site with water access on which he could construct a concrete dam--one he could subsequently blow up in a simulated attack. The dam was constructed of concrete lock block on an excavated site in Mackenzie, British Columbia with the help of BC Hyrdo. A geotextile backing on the dam helped stabilized the quick construction. Learn more here.;

Ground stabilization specialist Tensar International has successfully defended its TriAx® product range against several patent infringements. To date, Tensar has pursued three separate cases through the Chinese legal system and prevailed in each instance. Learn More.

ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics has revised standard D4759, "Standard Practice for Determining the Specification Conformance of Geosynthetics." This practice has been developed with strong emphasis on practicality and the realization that all geosynthetics are subjected to a vigorous quality control program prior to shipping. The standard has been revised to D4759-11. Learn more here.;

The slope adjacent to the athletic fields at Saint Mark Catholic School in Huntersville, North Carolina had been experiencing severe surface erosion and shallow/surface failures. Engineers decided to pursue a solution that involved driven soil anchors and a turf reinforcement mat for veneer stability. Fortrac® 3D from HUESKER was chosen as the ideal fit for the turf reinforcement because of its high tensile strength at low elongations. Fortrac® 3D's unique three-dimensional construction and high tenacity differentiate it from other turf reinforcement mats. Unlike other products that elongate as much as 65%, Fortrac® 3D has a maximum elongation of 12%, which means it keeps soil in place.

The 5th European Conference on Geosynthetics (EuroGeo 5) will be held 16-19 September 2012 in Valencia, Spain. The Spanish Chapter of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) will organize it, and the event will be held under the auspices of the IGS. Authors interested in presenting a paper at the Conference must provide an abstract before 31 October 2011, addressed to the Conference Secretariat, through the Conference website. Abstracts received by fax or mail will not be considered. Abstracts must be written in either English or Spanish. Visit the abstracts submission page on the conference website. Learn more here.;

Due to overwhelming interest by engineers following Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, the call for papers for the ATC-SEI Advances in Hurricane Engineering Conference has been extended to this Thursday, September 15. The joint Applied Technology Council and Structural Engineering Institute event is set for 24-26 October 2012 in Miami. Learn more here.;

Tensar International's Commercial Director, John Kiely, is accompanying UK Prime Minister David Cameron as part of the high-level UKTI visit to Russia on the 12-13 September 2011. There are enormous opportunities in Russia’s developing infrastructure over the next few years. The attraction to Tensar is that much of this infrastructure will be over poor ground which needs extensive stabilisation to carry the loads imposed by the traffic and construction. Read more.

The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) regularly offers short-course and certification professional development opportunities. Currently, GSI is preparing four one-day courses, each of which will be offered twice and worth 8 PDHs. Two new courses on retaining wall failures MSE, berm, and slope monitoring and inspection are included. Also, GSI is offering two certification exams, each of which are also available in conjunction with related courses. Read about them here.

CE News' July 2011 Rebuilding America's Infrastructure supplemental publication includes Bryan Gee's "Track Support for Railways." The article looks at the beneficial use of geogrids in soft soil railway bed designs and comes not long after the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) approved this approach. Read it online. Learn more here.;

The Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) has announced Long Beach, California as the next site for the long-running, bienniel Geosynthetics conference. This event will be co-located with the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) annual Southwest Geotechnical Engineers Conference. Additionally, the Geosynthetic Institute's (GSI) 25th Geosynthetic Research Institute conference (GRI–25) will be included. Learn more here.;

When SKZ's Geosynthetics Middle East (GSME) event convenes 25-26 October 2011 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, it will mark the fourth annual chapter in this conference, which has grown out of a successful series SKZ previously conducted in Germany. SKZ has organized the GSME event with BMC Gulf, and this year it will once again be held under the patronage of the Municipality of Abu Dhabi. The program for GSME 2011 has been announced. Read about it.

The Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) will once again feature two geosynthetics sessions during its IFAI Expo 2012, to be held 26-28 June 2012 in Singapore. The 2011 edition included two courses taught by TRI/Environmental's Sam Allen, while the 2012 edition has now announced that Dr. A. Malek Bouazza will lead two symposiums: "Geosynthetics for Waste and Water Containment" and "Geosynthetics for Roads and Bridges." Learn more at the event website. 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.;

The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) openly publishes a "Best of Article Search" selection in its monthly e-newsletter. This month's offering is Stanley M. Miller and Alan C. Joaquin's paper "Geosynthetic Stabilized Earth Using Compost Filter Socks for Sustainable Vegetated Walls and Slopes" from the EC11 conference. Read it here.

Seats are booking fast for the 4th International GEOSYNTHETICS Middle East conference. Attracting over 300 delegates from 25 countries in 2010, the conference has turned out to be the leading event on geosynthetics throughout the Middle East and marked Abu Dhabi on the world map as an excellent meeting place for geotechnical and environment specialists to exchange knowledge, conduct business and build strategic partnerships. Under the patronage of Abu Dhabi Municipality, the event is taking place 25-26 October 2011 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.