Updated 10 August 2020: George Koerner, Director of the Geosynthetic Institute, had the honor in 2017 of delivering the first Koerner Lecture. The series is named in honor of his father, the late Dr. Robert Koerner, who is internationally recognized as one of the godfathers of geosynthetics. Last year, I had the pleasure to see both Koerners at an...

By GSE Environmental – Repairing damaged expansion joints in rigid pavements is a costly endeavor. Not only is the cost of the repairs high, but repair projects can go on for miles and shut down vital lanes of traffic important to commuters and local commerce. The primary cause of premature damage is insufficient drainage under rigid pavements. MANAGING EXPANSION JOINTS Expansion joints...

The Thai Geotechnical Society will host the Southeast Asian Geotechnical Society's 50th Anniversary Symposium. The international event, featuring 35 invitation-only presentations, will be held 14 - 15 September 2017 at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) Campus in Bangkok. Key topics include transportation geotechnics, slope stability and stabilization technologies, embankment design, subsurface drainage, geohazards, tunneling, and more. The tentative program...

We’ve rounded the corner into the second half of 2017, so it’s time to take stock of what Geosynthetica’s readers have made our most popular geosynthetics stories. Last year was the publication's biggest year in overall unique readers and in page views, and 2017 has sustained that momentum. We are currently trending another 18% higher on 2016 and 65%...

Jay Sprague of the South Carolina-based Denver Down Research Facility took on a private client’s pullout anchor testing questions with erosion and sediment control systems and components. The results began to yield revealing data on anchor pullout performance, and in a way that has not been previously explored. Listen to "Pullout Anchor Testing in Erosion and Sediment Control" on Spreaker. Following...

Owens Corning has introduced GeoLap™ adhesive tape, a taping solution designed specifically for RhinoMat® and RhinoSkin® geomembrane applications. The 4-inch-wide tape’s high-strength adhesive is designed for enhanced performance in geomembrane repair, patching, and protection. It is suitable for secondary repairs, seam protection, pipe boots and penetration sealing, batten reinforcement, and other geomembrane adhesive tape needs. ADHESIVE TAPE FOR GEOMEMBRANE APPLICATIONS “The development...

By HUESKER – Key properties in effective geosynthetic reinforcement are adequate tensile stiffness and tensile strength coupled with good interaction behavior. The relatively new technical term interaction flexibility introduces a previously disregarded aspect: the flexibility of the geogrid in a reinforced structure. This property has been shown to improve the interaction between soils and the geosynthetic reinforcement. A FOCUS ON...

Cobramseg is a biennial geotechnical engineering event in Brazil that combines multiple national and international engineering conferences. It’s one of South America’s most important engineering gatherings. At the 2016 edition, Ana Carolina Portela Costa, Ary Franck Baia Cordeiro, Leonardo Campos Dias, and Julián Buriticá García of Dinamiza Consultoria e Engenharia Ltda and Renato Pinto da Cunha of the University...

Erosion and sediment control advances have produced enormously beneficial results, in infrastructure performance and economics; yet, rates of erosion and sediment control system adoption rates have lagged behind the research supporting them. Dr. Eve Brantley, an extension specialist and associate professor with Auburn University’s Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences Department in the renowned College of Agriculture, has looked at...

By Dr. Robert M. Koerner – Since 2001, the Geosynthetic Institute has accumulated data on failures of geosynthetic-reinforced mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) retaining walls. Our MSE wall failures database presently has 301 cases, of which 191 (63%) have been caused in whole or part by water within, or adjacent to, the reinforced soil zone. We sincerely hope that our...