Transportation

Engineers at District 2 of the Illinois Department of Transportation were busy preparing plans for a major project in the Quad cities area in Rock Island County of Northwestern Illinois. The project, an extension of the Milan Beltway, was to include a long and highly visible drainage channel. They sought out a vegetated solution for this project, and the ideal solution they found was with composite turf reinforcement mats (C-TRM) from Tensar North American Green. Read about the exemplary and cost-saving performance from this site.

Yamba is a small coastal community on the northern beaches of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. and is known as the "Jewel in the Crown" for Clarence Valley Council, a point which was reinforced when it won "The Best Town in Australia" in 2009. In early 2012, undermining in the southeast corner of Whiting Beach was exposing key infrastructure, including the footpath, road, stormwater pipe work and chamber, pressurized sewer and a car park. ELCOROCK® Geotextile Sand Containers were seen as an ideal solution to fit these criteria and were adopted after consultation with Geofabrics Australasia, Fisheries and Crown Land.

Did you know that Brandenton, Florida-based Engineered Coated Products (ECP) is a division of Intertape Polymer Group? Within ECP's diverse product offerings you'll find NovaThene AquaMaster™ for water containment and barrier membranes. ECP sells to many growing end user markets in Canada and the United States. Visit ECP's web site to learn more. Learn more here.;

In a joint effort HUESKER Synthetic, INORA and NEOSTRAIN have documented the outstanding technical solution for sinkhole reinforcement as well as the detection and monitoring of deformations of the new constructed motorway A1 near Katowice, Poland. The solution was presented in the paper "Fully automated system for monitoring of deformations and settlements of embankment body of motorway A1" and presented at the 16th Polish Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering held in Breslau, Poland in September 2012. The technical Committee of the Conference thanked the authors and awarded the paper for its high level of innovation and quality.

Tensar International, the leader in geosynthetic soil reinforcement and stabilization, has completed a major investment in its Morrow, GA geogrid production plant. The facility's new extruder is now operating at full capacity, offering additional production capacity to help meet growing demand for Tensar® TriAx® Geogrids. The new extruder can run multiple resin types and allows the facility to run longer production campaigns. Significant growth of TriAx® Geogrid sales prompted the investment.

Maccaferri, whose geotechnical solutions include geosynthetics, gabions, rockfall netting, and other materials, is adding to the international body of information on rockfall barrier systems with a series of progressively tougher barrier system trials. These tests are revealing boundaries, potential failure mechanisms, and full strength capabilities of today's engineered systems. Learn more about Maccaferri's trials here and watch a video of their most recent test from Italy in which a weight equivalent to a tractor trailer was dropped from 125 ft. onto a barrier system. Following this trial's successful system performance, even larger tests are being planned.

Freecycling is the act of recycling what is destined for a landfill by giving it away to those who can still utilize the original materials. For the manufacture of geosynthetics, this may represent a huge opportunity to reduce the amount of material that is landfilled simply by default of being "waste" from the perspective of the conventional manufacturing, shipping, and storage side of the business. Geofabrics Australasia recently engaged in a highly successful freecycling trial in the Albury/Wodonga area of New South Wales, thanks to a strong freecycling organization and the dedicated efforts of a Geofabrics employee.

American Environmental Group Ltd has grown to become one of the largest suppliers and installers of geosynthetic materials in North America, with offices across the country and multiple divisions. The company currently has a Geosynthetics Technical Manager position open at its Richfield, Ohio headquarters. Learn more about the qualifications and expectations here. And please share this opportunity with the geosynthetics experts you know who may be right for the position.

On 1 November 2012, Dr.-Ing. F.- Hans Grandin took over as Managing Director of HUESKER Synthetic GmbH based in Gescher (Westphalia). Thus, after just ten months, Mr Grandin succeed Mr Wolfgang Huesker who, from now on, will return to devote his full attention to his tasks in the Advisory Board of the company. Established in 1861, HUESKER today is a company which pioneers the development and production of geosynthetics, agricultural and technical textiles for applications used throughout the world.

HUESKER has just published a video on dewatering with the company's SoilTain® tubes. 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 exhibition area, already extended, has sold out and the international group of expert speakers are ready. The fifth edition of Geosynthetics Middle East, organized by SKZ and being held again under the patronage of Abu Dhabi Municipality, will unfold 19–20 November 2012 at the Rocco Forte Hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This year's speakers hail from the UAE, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Malaysia, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Italy, United Kingdom, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Canada. They'll address the transportation infrastructure and environmental solutions theme through case studies, research, new materials and application approaches, and direct interaction with the attendees.

Maccaferri's professional development webinars have built a steady, strong following and addressed topics such as geotextiles and geogrids, MSE wall design and installation, gabions, rockfall protection, and embankment construction. These sessions run roughly 90 min, include expert presenters, provide a non-credit 0.15 CEU certificate, technical document downloads, and ample time for direct Q&A between the listening audience and the presenters. In November, the company is presenting two new sessions, both of which are free to participants. Learn more.

StormCon, the North American Surface Water Quality Conference and Exposition, is now seeking abstracts for presentations at StormCon 2013. The conference will take place August 18 – 22, 2013, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Abstracts are due December 5, 2012. We are seeking abstracts in six conference tracks plus the Coastal Protection Symposium. The six conference tracks are: (1) BMP Case Studies, (2) Green Infrastructure, (3) Stormwater Program Management, (4) Erosion and Sediment Control, (5) Water-Quality Monitoring, (6) Advanced Research Topics. Learn more here.;

THRACE LINQ, a global supplier of woven and nonwoven performance fabrics for a wide variety of textile applications, announces a rebranding to streamline and create a unified look and feel and highlight its identity and cohesiveness across its family Thrace Group.

Tensar International has signed an agreement to build a manufacturing plant in Russia. Tensar is the majority shareholder in this joint venture (JV), with remaining investment coming from Russian partners. Don Meltzer, CEO of Alpharetta based parent company, Tensar Corporation, and Bob Vevoda, Chief Operating Officer and President of Tensar International, met with their Russian JV partners in London earlier this month to finalize the funding and construction schedule.

The Fifth Asian Regional Conference on Geosynthetics (Geosynthetics Asia 2012) will be held at Centara Grand Lardprao Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand from 13 to 15 December 2012. GA2012 will be hosted by the International Geosynthetics Society-Thailand (IGS-Thailand), Asian Center for Soil Improvement and Geosynthetics (ACSIG) and Suranaree University of Technology (SUT) under the auspices of the Internationla Geosynthetics Society (IGS). The theme of this Conference is "Geosynthetics for Sustainable Adaptation of Climate Change".

In underground coal mines, the mines prefer to leave a base of coal to leave a firm subgrade for traffic. However, when coal seams are thin, in order to attain a minimum height to the roof miners have to dig into the base and expose soft lenses of clay which have low bearing capacities. Consequently, these frequently traversed pavements become impassable when mine vehicles, shuttle cars and mining machines create ruts which deepen over time and require maintenance to maintain access. Geofabrics Australasia writes on how they've worked with mining companies to create geosynthetic-supported roads that are more durable and economical than concrete or traditional aggregate roads in underground mines.

The Australian Chapter of the International Geosynthetics Society (ACIGS) is offering a seminar on "Geosynthetic Filtration & Failutres" with renowned geosynthetics expert Dr. J.P. Giroud as the primary speaker. Warren Hornsey (Geofabrics Australasia) helps lead the seminar as well as provides an overview of geotextile testing in the region. The first of the presentations has just taken place in Brisbane (Oct 26), but three more sessions are still available. Learn more.

On 8 November 2012, geotechnical engieering expert Dr. Kerry Rowe, a Sir John Kennedy Medal recipient (which is the Engineering Institute of Canada's highest award), will speak at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. The topic of his talk will be "The Use of Geosynthetics to Aid Construction over Soft Soils - Successes and Cautions." This presentation explores the reason for the success and the benefits that can be achieved using geosynthetics, as a basal reinforcement, and PVDs to increase short-term stability of embankments and to accelerate consolidation and long-term strength gain.

irestone Building Products Company, LLC, a leading manufacturer and supplier of a comprehensive "Roots to Rooftops" system of building envelope solutions, has made a major investment in innovation with a new Global Technical Center. While construction was completed in spring 2012, the Center is now fully staffed and operational with advanced analytical testing technologies in place. The Center is located in Fishers, Ind., near Indianapolis.

On November 15 at 1:00 pm EDT, Maccaferri will host a webinar on "Gabions and Reno Mattresses in Hydraulic Applications." Topics for this engineers, planners, developers and contractors-oriented session include channel bank protection; drop structures; culvert inlet and outlet protection; and bridge abutment scour protection. Attendees will receive a non-credit 0.15 CEU certificate following the webinar and a link to download handouts, technical data sheets, product specifications, product installation guides, a gabion installation video, case studies, and design software. Learn more here.;

High-strength turf reinforcement mats made from vegetative or synthetic materials (or a combination of both) are used to prevent soil erosion in drainage areas and on steep slopes. A proposed new ASTM International standard, ASTM WK38408, Specification for Turf Reinforcement Mats, will be focused on mats made only with geosynthetics (no organic materials). ASTM WK38408 is being developed by Subcommittee D35.05 on Geosynthetic Erosion Control, part of ASTM International Committee D35 on Geosynthetics.

Italian geosynthetics manufacturing expertise is headed to India, one of the world's biggest infrastructure markets and a nation in which geosynthetics are getting a strong push from international and domestic companies, new engineering journals, and professional development events. On October 18, the India-based Business Co-ordination House (BCH) and the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers (ACIMIT) will hold a one-day symposium on "Woven Technologies for Technical Textiles – Special Focus on Fabrics for Filtration & Geotextiles." The event will take place at the Park Hotel (Parliament Street) in New Delhi. Learn more

Maccaferri, Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of their new website: www.maccaferri-usa.com. The new website offers a more contemporary look and feel, and provides users with a comprehensive overview of the solutions and products that Maccaferri offers to the civil and environmental engineering fields. Users will find the functionality and navigation to be more streamlined. New site features include: an interactive map to view case studies by location, access to LinkedIn and YouTube, and a searchable documents section for viewing and downloading brochures, design software, and a variety of other technical documents and drawings.