Soil Reinforcement

With full White House support, America should be running high-speed railroads by the end of the decade, writes John Rosenthal. Such trains "consume less fuel, produce less carbon dioxide, and promote urban redevelopment, which has broader environmental benefits," said Kevin Brubaker, deputy director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago. However, Joseph Szabo, head of the Federal Railroad Administration, reminds us: "This is a 40-year build-out, just like the Interstate Highway System was in the 1950s." Learn more here.;

Every year in the South Sulawesi Province of Indonesia, thousands of tourists visit to admire the breathtaking landscape and places of rituals and ceremonies of the Toraja ethnic group....

In his latest post from the Uncontained series, construction quality assurance (CQA) expert Glen Toepfer writes on 5 things we in the geosynthetics and affiliated geotechnical and civil engineering...

On March 4, HUESKER will host a free greenroofs and geocomposites webinar. The core focus will be on the use of Ultimat® TGS geocomposites and how these geosynthetic materials...

It is very rich and prestigious the audience of stakeholders who will take part in RemTech Expo (www.remtechexpo.com), the most specialized event in Italy on the remediation of contaminated...

By Jack Caldwell - On 8 - 11 September 2014, InfoMine is hosting the first international conference on Geosynthetics Mining Solutions. Why a conference on geosynthetics in mining when...

The 2014 World Bioenergy Award has been awarded to Jörgen Sandström from Sweden. He is head of the company Addax Bioenergy in Sierra Leone, which on a commercial basis is...

The triennial INDEX conference from EDANA has announced a special geotextile workshop for the 2014 edition. INDEX 14 will take place 8 – 11 April 2014 in Geneva, Switzerland...

IECA's annual conference and expo, Environmental Connection, is the world's largest soil and water event. Environmental Connection is the industry's gathering place for developing business relationships, learning new ways...

Targeting new markets in effective ways – that is the declared aim of the US rail industry. That is why US companies operating on the world stage are increasingly...

A new conference is coming to address the future of changing stormwater regulations, MS4 design and implementation, community response to new approaches and other key issues in stormwater management...

The troubled Union-Go Dairy in Winchester, Indiana has finally resolved the problem of whales (“bubbles”) in the 21-million-gallon manure lagoon’s liner. It wasn’t a joke: on April Fool’s Day, engineers moved about the lagoon on flat-bottom boats and slowly released the gas from each swollen whale. A tube and valve device was used to minimize risk of an explosive release. 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.

The Geosynthetic Institute's Dr. Robert Koerner (Director Emiritus) and Jaime Koerner (Special Projects Manager) have issued the Geosynthetic Research Institute's (GRI) White Paper #23, "U.S. State Environmental Agency Status with Respect To Reviewing and Permitting Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) Landfill Berms." They write in the open that "Many state departments across the country are being asked to approve permits for the construction of large mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) berms usually located at the perimeter of a specific solid waste landfill." Their survey yielded responses from 30 state agencies, giving this white paper significant feedback on the current state-of-practice in terms of regulatory acceptance, preparedness, concerns, and more. Download a copy here (PDF).

The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) has just published its White Paper #22: "Selected Geosynthetic Opportunities Associated with Energy Production and Transmission." The 16-page paper (available here as a PDF) from Drs. Robert and George Koerner looks at global energy use, geosynthetics in key sectors (e.g., oil and gas, mining, hydroelectric), and geosynthetics in renewable energy. The authors write, "...the geosynthetics community should focus efforts by being proactive with respect to the various energy sources as applies to federal and state agencies, public advocacy groups, local citizen groups and all related stakeholders." A chart of energy sources and the geosynthetic applications associated with them is included. Read more.

While coal ash facility design has been all the talk, there are other challenging sites in need of re-evaluating the environmental security of. The Geosynthetic Research Institute (GRI) has published its White Paper #18: "Geosynthetic Lining Opportunities at Uranium Mill Tailings (UMT) and Low Level Radioactive Waste (LLRW) Facilities in the USA." It's a cursory but fascinating snapshot of the extent of base liner, capping systems, and affiliated geosynthetics potential for these critical containment sites. From environmental protection to slope stability, the incorporation of geosynthetic technologies could be as beneficial here as they already are (and already are required) for municipal solid waste (MSW) facilities. Read the six-page white paper, with a break down of some facility scopes, here (PDF). Learn more here.;

Cliff Hall and David Cashman of Tensar International Ltd. have released a white paper, "Plotting the Road Map for Performance Specifications." Slowly but surely, specification by performance is becoming a more accepted method for construction by highways agencies both in the UK and internationally. The results promise much needed innovation and significant economic and environmental benefits. But how should contractors and suppliers be adapting to changing client demands? Tracing the route of changing specification practice tells us that reliance on laboratory-based testing of materials cannot show how materials perform under real life site conditions.

Tensar has launched a new website with easy-to-navigate access to geogrid products and systems, project case studies, industry white papers, product literature and more. Search by application, system or market sector to learn how Tensar's wide range of geogrid products, systems and applications can benefit your next project. Registered users can take advantage of SP4 PRO, Dimension Solution and other valuable Tensar software too. Register by February 28 and be entered in a drawing to win 1 of 5 iPads.

As the economy takes its toll in the number of approved civil engineering and infrastructure projects and with close scrutiny of those that do make it past the planning stage, Tensar International's Ian Fraser discusses the need to minimise the cost of raw materials, which increasingly favours more sustainable recycled solutions. Read his comments here and link to a document with further information from a company white paper.

NAUE, the international geosynthetics manufacturer and engineering services provider, has released SecuSlope 3.0 for mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) applications. The latest version of this MSE design software has been updated for...

In its February 2015 newsletter, international geosynthetics and affiliated civil technologies manufacturer Maccaferri focused on two geotechnical software tools. These products are dedicated to assisting pavement design and improving...

Mechanically stabilized earth constructions, such as MSE walls, have enabled economical, safe, more vertical constructions. Often, these designs have yielded shorter construction windows, offered vegetated faces, and reduced the...

APPLETON, Wisconsin - PRESTO GEOSYSTEMS®, a leading manufacturer of soil stabilization and stormwater products, introduces their new GEOWEB® MSE design freeware for GEOWEB geocell wall applications. The software creates...

TenCate Geosynthetics has improved and expanded its MiraSpec™ Design Solutions Software, an easy-to-use software program to assist in flexible pavement and unpaved road design while demonstrating the many benefits...

6 March 2014 - TenCate Geosynthetics Americas is proud to reintroduce our internet based MiraSpec Design Solutions Software (www.miraspec.com). It is an easy to use software program that will assist in...