Transportation

The expansive Smokey Hill Air National Guard Range near Salina, Kansas provides 34,000 acres for realistic environment training for both active and reserve military organizations. This unique facility includes a 156-acre zone for crisis response training. For the construction of a collapsed structure simulation, site coordinators sought a subgrade reinforcement material that would not require the addition of a separate nonwoven weed barrier. The Kansas Department of Transportation suggested Combigrid® GRK 5 2020, a material with which KDOT has previous experience.

IGS-Thailand, the Asian Center for Soil Improvement and Geosynthetics (ACSIG), and the Southeast Asian Geotechnical Society (SEAGS), under the auspices of International Geosynthetics Society (IGS), are jointly organizing the International Symposium on Geotechnical and Geosynthetics Engineering: Challenges and Opportunities on Climate Change to be held 7-8 December 2010 in Bangkok, Thailand. This event is co-organized by the Thailand Geotechnical Society (TGS) and Suranaree University of Technology (SUT). The symposium will gather academics, practitioners, partners, and stakeholders to discuss emergency and urgent issues related to climate change as well as the innovative mitigation measures in the context of geotechnical and geosynthetics engineering.

TenCate has released its full statement on first half 2010 performance. The company has announced that it has doubled its net profit in the period, in part bouyed by significant improvement in the Geosynthetics and Grass Division. Read more.

The Minnesota Erosion Control Association (MECA) seeks presentations for its 23rd Annual Erosion Control and Stormwater Management Conference and Trade Show, to be held 3-4 March 2011 at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Plymouth, Minnesota. Two types of presentations are being solicited: Local projects completed for stormwater management or erosion and sediment control; New, innovative products for stormwater management or erosion and sediment control. Project presentations will be 15-30 minutes long. Product presentations will be 10-15 minutes. Submit your presentation title and 200-word abstract, project location, names and the contact information for the presenter(s) by 27 September 2010 to MECA at carolyn@fortinconsulting.com. For more information call the MECA office, +1 763 478 3267. Learn more here.;

The High Sheldon Wind Farm produces wind energy for the Town of Sheldon in Wyoming County, New York. The project has a maximum electric generating capacity of 129 MW and produces enough clean, renewable energy to power 60,000 homes every year. The major challenge facing the contractor was the potential rutting caused by the extremely high live loads on the turbine access roads. In order to support loading from equipment of up to 5000 psf, Fornit® 30 geogrids were installed to enhance the subgrade of the access roads on the site. This type of geogrid is designed reinforcement with confinement of finer aggregate. It was an ideal choice for the site. Read more.

A recent reconstruction of a lot on Texas A&M University's campus has not only provided needed parking and renovations, but saved a number of trees. Somewhat new for the campus is the use of geogrids instead of traditional lime for stabilization. Lime can damage tree roots. For this project, the university used Tensar's Triax Geogrid. Learn more here.;

From Kuo-Hsin Yang, Jorge G. Zornberg and Richard J. Bathurst: This paper examines the mobilization of reinforcement tension within geosynthetic-reinforced soil (GRS) structures at working stress and at large soil strains. Fully-mobilized reinforcement tension is assumed in most current design methods for the internal stability of GRS structures. In these methods the mobilized reinforcement tensile load is assumed to be equal to mobilized horizontal soil forces computed using active earth pressure theory. However, comparison with reinforcement tension loads measured in the field has shown that this approach is conservative (excessively safe) by as much as a factor of two. This observation has prompted the current study in which stress data obtained from a numerical study and two instrumented large-scale GRS retaining walls were used to examine the relationship between mobilized reinforcement tensile load and mobilized soil shear strength. The results show that the ratio of reinforcement tensile load and mobilized soil shear strength is not constant Only when the average mobilized soil shear strength exceeds 95%, is reinforcement tensile capacity mobilized significantly. Nevertheless, less than 30% of reinforcement strength is mobilized when the average mobilized soil shear strength reaches peak soil shear capacity. These results help explain why current design methods lead to computed reinforcement loads that are very high compared to measured loads under operational conditions. Learn more here.;

The Geosynthetics Materials Association (GMA), in a formal response to the EPAs publication of a proposed rule aimed developing regulations to govern the storage of Coal Combustion Residuals (CCRs) has well supported the use of engineered geosynthetic lining systems as the most qualified measure of containment technology available today.

Strata Geosystems India Private Ltd today announced that their manufacturing plant at Daman producing "high-tenacity Geogrid" has been awarded the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System Certificate, by internationally recognized certification body "TUV-Nord." The said standard is developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), an international-standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations from 163 countries. Read more.

The 3rd International Symposium on Geosynthetic Clay Liners (GBR-C 2k10) is almost here! Germany-based SKZ, with scientific committee support from France-based Cemagref and the United States-based Geosynthetic Institute (GSI), will host the event in Würzburg, Germany 15-16 September 2010. These sessions, which will explore a vast amount of GCL applications, research, and performance, will be held at the historic Fortress Marienberg. Dr. Jorge Zornberg, president of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS), will open the conference.

Federal-stimulus money paid the wages of 755,454 workers in the second quarter, the highest quarterly total to date and a marked increase from the first quarter's total of 682,370. Still, some critics say the fund hasn't delivered enough to infrastructure projects. "Some estimates have shown that about 12 cents out of every dollar are only going to what is typically characterized as stimulus packages," notes one finance professor. Learn more here.;

An environmentally friendly transit center in Scott County, Minn., has turned out to be a $50,000 white elephant, officials say. Porous paving units designed to minimize toxic runoff crumbled under the weight of the buses, and a rain garden quickly turned into a clogged, festering mess. "We failed," said the county's public-works chief. "I learned from a professor at the U[niversity], if you are afraid to show the public your mistakes, skip civil engineering." Learn more here.;

The International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) President Jorge Zornberg has sent out a message to inform IGS members that the new IGS Secretariat is Diana Davis. With her appointment comes a new address and phone number for the IGS office. Contact Diana Davis, Secretariat Manager, 605 Belvedere Rd., Suite #13, West Palm Beach, FL 33405 USA. Telephone +1 561 249 0088, E-Fax +1 561 828 7618, Email: IGSsec@geosyntheticssociety.org. Learn more here.;

The newest IGS News is available! Volume 26, No 2 from the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) is content loaded, with significant reports from the IGS' quadrenniel International Conference on Geosynthetics, international chapters, election results, and much more. The issue also includes results from the first IGS Photo Competition, an in memorium column about the late Bernard Myles, IGS Award 2010 winners, regional conference announcements, and numerous other items. Read the latest in PDF today. Learn more here.;

The American Public Works Association (APWA) 2011 Sustainability in Public Works Conference and exhibition is accepting presentation proposals through 30 September 2010. The event location and dates have yet to be announced, but 2010's event in Minneapolis was a great success. APWA's sustainability initiatives include not just this event series but a new APWA Center for Sustainability. Learn more about the conference topics that intersect with geosynthetic practice. Learn more here.;

CompositesWorld, publisher of High-Performance Composites and Composites Technology magazines, has announced that the agenda is nearly set for its High-Performance Fibers 2010 conference, which will be held 9-10 November 2010, at the Doubletree Guest Suites Historic Charleston Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina. This year’s agenda will have some different presentations, including one on geotextiles that incorporate fiber optic sensors that provide structural health monitoring of critical earth structures like walls, slopes, roads, rails, levees and dams, identifying unseen problems before a catastrophic failure occurs. Learn more here.;

During the week of 26 July 2010 Dr. Barry Christopher, a past president of the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS) and private geotechnical consultant, and David Suits, NAGS Executive Director, presented two one-and-a-half-day short courses on "Geosynthetics in Reinforcement Applications." These sessions were presented through the Cornell University Local Roads Technical Assistance Program (LTAP). Learn more.

The Transportation Research Board's (TRB) Research in Progress website includes a note of a 9 July 2010-entered research program title "Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil for Low Volume Bridge Abutments." The Iowa Department of Transportation is heading the research, and the study is being carried out by Iowa State University Institute for Transportation. The project runs through 31 December 2011. Learn more here.;

A road in Nixa, Missouri that has been closed since May 12 after a county road foreman spotted the sinkhole, is reopening. The sinkhole measured about 2 feet in diameter but went back about 5 feet under the road, where it became about 5 feet deep. After several tests and borings done around the sinkhole, no other voids were found. However, the ground was to unstable to fill and repave. Crews used geogrid to reinforce the roadway, basically creating a structural bridge over the void. To accomplish that, a 100-by-24-foot section of the roadway, going about 5 feet deep, was removed. 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. Learn more.

In advance of the publication of the half-year figures on Thursday, 26 August 2010 and on the basis of provisional results, TenCate announces that its operating result (EBIT) amounts to approximately € 27 million in the second quarter of 2010 (second quarter of 2009: € 11.1 million). The operating result for the first six months of 2010 doubled to an amount of approximately € 33 million. Taking incidental items into account, net profit too doubled in the first half year to approximately € 19 million. Within this, the company reports significant improvement from its Geosynthetics and Grass division. Read more.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 announced the release of the Sustainable Design and Green Building Toolkit for Local Governments (Toolkit). The Toolkit was developed collaboratively by the Agency's Regional Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Division and Water Protection Division and Pollution Prevention Office, with support from the EPA Green Building and Smart Growth Programs, the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response's Innovations Workgroup, and many external partners. The Toolkit is designed to assist local governments in identifying and removing permitting barriers to sustainable design and green building practices.

GeoAmericas 2012, the second Pan-American Geosynthetics Congress, will be held 1-4 May 2012 at the Libertador Hotel in Lima, Peru. It will be organized by IGS Peru, under the auspices of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS). The congress will highlight the main topics in the geosynthetics industry and applications. Keynote lectures and selected papers will be presented on the main themes: Geosynthetics in Enviromental Applications; Geosynthetics in Dynamic Applications; Geosynthetics in Hydraulic Applications; Geosynthetics in Mining Applications; Geosynthetics in HIghways Applications; Geosynthetics in Sanitary Applications; Case Histories; and New Geosynthetics Products. Learn more.

GeoAmericas 2012, the second Pan-American Geosynthetics Congress, will be held 1-4 May 2012 at the Libertador Hotel in Lima, Peru. It will be organized by IGS Peru, under the auspices of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS). The congress will highlight the main topics in the geosynthetics industry and applications. Keynote lectures and selected papers will be presented on the main themes: Geosynthetics in Enviromental Applications; Geosynthetics in Dynamic Applications; Geosynthetics in Hydraulic Applications; Geosynthetics in Mining Applications; Geosynthetics in HIghways Applications; Geosynthetics in Sanitary Applications; Case Histories; and New Geosynthetics Products. Stay current with the latest at the event website, www.geoamericas2012.com. Learn more here.;

After more than five months of closure, the Esquimalt Lagoon bridge in Colwood, British Columbia--on Victoria Island--has been repaired. On the north side of the bridge, the asphalt was removed and fill material excavated out. The area was repacked and the sides reinforced with geotextile to prevent fill material from being drawn out. The repair took less than two weeks. Learn more here.;