Soil Reinforcement

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.

TCL2010--the International Conference on Textile Laminating and Coating--will be held 4-5 November 2010 in Cannes, France. Please note that these are new dates for the event. The theme of the gathering, which will be held at the Novotel Montfleury, will be "An Industry Moving Forward - Focus on the future. A call for papers has been issued. Read about the sessions here.

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. Deadline to submit an abstract is 20 May 2010. Learn more.

"We foresee the role of German technology as crucial for the development of the technical textile sector in India." With these words Mrs. Rita Menon, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles in India opened a two days Conference on German Technology for Indian Technical Textiles which was jointly organised by FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry) and the VDMA Textile Machinery Association. Read about these events.

In Carl Junction, Missouri, contractor Larry Snyder and Co. encountered an uncharacteristic and protracted spell of bad weather in what had been a fairly direct construction project. After 56 days of construction were disrupted by snow, rain or excessive mud, the city council extending the contract timeline (to avoid fines being assessed to the company). The company has now requested money for geogrids to conduct some parking lot construction. Geogrids, the company believes, are the only approach it can use in these less than ideal weather conditions and to get the project done more quickly without sacrificing quality and safety. Learn more here.;

Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) members were in Washington, D.C., 1-3 March 2010 for the association's semiannual Lobby Days. GMA has consistent representation in Washington through our contracted firms, Kemp Partners/Whitmer & Worrall. But to reinforce GMA's message on Capitol Hill, twice a year GMA-member companies send representatives to meet with Members of Congress as both constituents and members of our trade association. Read more in the summary report from GMA managing director Andrew Aho.

A team of University of Delaware engineering students has taken top honors in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Geo-Challenge Student Competition on Mechanically Stabilized Earth Wall Construction. Held at GeoFlorida 2010 on February 23, the competition required teams of students to design and construct a scaled-down model of a mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall in which dry sand reinforced with paper is retained behind a paper wall that has been constructed in a plywood form. Read more from Diane Kukich.

The world's largest manufacturer of fiber optic sensors for civil engineering applications and the world's leading provider of geosynthetics are collaborating in the development of a unique geotextile monitoring solution -- TenCate GeoDetect® -- that will provide unprecedented detail about the properties of embankments, slopes, walls, levees, roads, rails and other earth structures. Customers will benefit from the real-time monitoring of every square meter of land for ground movement, soil erosion, settlement and other changes. Read more.

Countries like India are beginning to discover the benefits of using geotextiles in road building. Frances Penwill-Cook uncovers the challenges that lie ahead for the geotextile industry. An international symposium on geotextiles in India predicted the increased use of geotextiles could be in the region of 15% a year. Yet, within India, there are still specifications to be approved and awareness to be raised before geotextile products can meet their full predicted potential. Learn more here.;

SKZ, with scientific committee support from Cemagref and the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI), will host the 3rd International Symposium on Geosynthetic Clay Liners (GBR-C 2k10) 15-16 September 2010 at the Fortress Marienberg in Würzburg, Germany. Technical sessions will address shear and mechanical behaviour of GCLs, chemical resistance of GCLs, testing of GCLs under unsaturated conditions, behaviour of GCLs in landfill covers (case studies), regulations, new concepts and developments in the use of GCLs, and GCLs for hydraulic and construction applications. Visit the conference's new website. Learn more here.;

Three short years after opening their first laboratory in the Chinese market in 2006, Precision Geosynthetic Laboratories International (PGLI) is thrilled to announce they are the First Foreign Geosynthetic Laboratory to be certified by the CMA (China Metrology Accreditation). This Accredidation allows PGLI to reaffirm to their customers they are receiving the highest level of quality testing available. A CMA certification allows PGLI to issue reports with the CMA mark, which is accepted by the Chinese Government for evaluation of a products quality and safety. It is also used for the conformance to the mandatory standards in China.

The African geosynthetics industry, and particularly South Africa's experts, took center stage last September during GeoAfrica 2009, which was the first African regional conference on geosynthetics. One of that region's main players is South Africa-based Kaytech, a wide-ranging manufacturer and distributor of materials for road construction and maintenance, drainage and filtration, erosion control, waterproofing, separation and reinforcement. Kaytech is growing steadily in the international market, both from its headquarters and through expanding its involvement elsewhere.

One year after being acquired by a private equity group, the leadership at Propex Operating Company, LLC, says that the emerging economic recovery will find the company ideally positioned to leverage its global and U.S. assets for optimal growth and profitability. Propex is a global leader in the development, design and manufacturing of brands and products for its customers. The business is grouped into four operating units including Geosynthetics, Performance Technologies, Concrete Solutions and Furnishing Solutions. Read more.

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Geo-Institute held its annual event in West Palm Beach, Florida 20-24 February 2010. And I am very pleased to report that the event was vibrant with a broad range of activity and healthy level of attendance. One of the remarkable characteristics of this event was the diversity of both attendee specializations and subject matters covered. Every facet of industry and academia seemed to be represented by the 850+ attendees. The 3.5-day technical program was so completely full that at times it was difficult for attendees to choose which of the sessions to attend. Read more from Elizabeth Peggs.

After 13 years as the Director of the ASCE's Geo-Institute, Carol Bowers is departing…for another position within ASCE. Bowers is taking a fantastic new challenge in transferring to a newly created position within ASCE for the creation of a Sustainable Infrastructure Rating System. The project is just getting underway--Geosynthetica will keep you posted as the program develops. In the meantime, Carol is overseeing projects and keeping a hand on the Geo-Institute until such time as her successor is named. Applications are being accepted for this position. We congratulate Carol on her new endeavor and look forward to seeing the rating system develop. Learn more here.;

The latest issue of Compounding World magazine is now available for viewing on-line. Use the link below to see our March 2010 edition in full. This issue includes articles on polymer distribution strategies; developments in antioxidants; the inside story on extruder design; concerns over RoHS revisions; nanotubes are the talk of Tokyo; Chemtura shifts its focus; and more. Learn more here.;

Geo-Frontiers 2011 brings together the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Geo-Institute (GI) and the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI). It will be held 13-16 March 2011 in Dallas, Texas. The conference organizers have announced an extension to the abstract submission deadline. Abstracts will now be accepted through 15 March 2010.

TenCate GeoDetect® is the first sensor enabled geotextile on the market to provide soil reinforcement, structural health monitoring and an early warning system into one package. Getec is an established geo structural monitoring company that provides bespoke monitoring packages and instrumentation. Getec and TenCate are working together to promote TenCate GeoDetect®, for embankment and slope monitoring. Learn more here.;

Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation and Industry Richard Marles today launched a $2.4million research centre that will investigate ways to contain potentially hazardous leaks from mine waste, domestic tips, tank farms and dams. Australian manufacturer Geofabrics Australasia has privately funded the centre, which will test the chemical reactivity, UV resistance and friction properties of materials used to line waste facilities.

Located throughout the U.S. and in 6 other regions of the world, the Chapters of the International Erosion Control Association (IECA) are instrumental in providing the erosion and sediment control community with education and networking opportunities through regional conferences, workshops, field days, newsletters, websites and other services.IECA is proud of the following Chapters for their achievements. (Continued.)

Cal Poly's Brent Hallock received the Presenter of the Year Award at the 41st conference and expo of the International Erosion Control Association (IECA) held recently in Dallas, Texas. The award recognizes an outstanding presenter that demonstrates excellence in presentation skills, educational delivery and content preparation. Hallock received the award for his course "Principles and Practices for Using Vegetation to Prevent Erosion." Read more.

Engineers this week said that damage to vital infrastructure such as highways and airports would hamper Chile’s efforts to recover from a massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck the nation on Saturday. From New Civil Engineer (NCE). Learn more here.;

Tailings and Mine Waste '10 will take place in Vail, Colorado 17-20 October 2010. The event organizers--Colorado State University's Dept. of Civil and Env. Engineering--invite short abstracts from prospective authors through Monday, April 5. Key issues for this year's event include a focus on Containment Systems, including geosynthetic liners, composite liner systems, leak detection and leachate collection, groundwater protection, and water management. Detailed guidelines and instructions are available in the call for papers. Download here in PDF. Learn more here.;

ASTM is currently seeking student nominees for the 2010 ASTM International Graduate Scholarship and the 2010 Katharine and Bryant Mather Scholarship. The application deadline for both scholarships is 30 April 2010. Visit the Student Awards section in the Students and Professors section of the ASTM Web site for more information. Learn more here.;

Penton Media's 2010 Global Waste Management Symposium (GWMS) has announced their initial sponsor lineup for 2010. The biennial event serves as an international forum for the presentation of both applied and fundamental research and case studies on waste management and will take place at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio, Texas, a new facility that just opened its doors this year.