Soil Reinforcement

Dr. Dennes Bergado writes with news of a gathering in Thailand: Geosynthetics Asia 2012, the 5th Asian Regional Conference on Geosynthetics. The first Call for Abstracts for this event, to be held under the auspices of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) and to be hosted by IGS Thailand, can be viewed in PDF here. Geosynthetics Asia 2012 will take place 10-14 December 2012 in Bangkok.

The Presumpscot River Youth Conservation Corps placed erosion control mats, vegetation, and other sediment control measures along the formerly barren banks of the river. The two-year, $740,000 project was paid for by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency. From KeepMeCurrent.com. Learn more here.;

ON-LINE COURSE ANNOUNCEMENT: Construction Inspection of Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) Walls, Berms and Slopes November 28 - 30, 2016 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM and 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM (Eastern...

Geosynthetics International, which has become one of the most respected geotechnical engineering journals in the world, is finally making its first nine volumes (1994 - 2002) available for online...

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.

On 11 May 2009, US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) adminstrator Lisa P. Jackson's testified before the United States Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to defend the administration's $10 billion+ budget. The new budget, as proposed, includes $3.9 billion for water infrastructure.

The Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) has announced Long Beach, California as the next site for the long-running, bienniel Geosynthetics conference. This event will be co-located with the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) annual Southwest Geotechnical Engineers Conference. Additionally, the Geosynthetic Institute's (GSI) 25th Geosynthetic Research Institute conference (GRI–25) will be included. Learn more here.;

The October 2008 issue of CE News includes an opportunity for readers to earn PDHs by reading and responding to Stephen Archer's peer-reviewed article "Subgrade Improvement for Paved and Unpaved Surfaces Using Geogrids." Archer has brought his experience from Tensar to this latest installment in CE News' Professional Development Series. A PDF copy is available courtesy of Tensar. Get your copy today and earn your hours. Learn more here.;

The Colorado Department of Transportation's extensive modernization of US Highway 40 (the historic Berthoud Pass) involved near-vertical walls and significant reinforcement schemes. Maccaferri preserved the greenery, though, by providing Green Terramesh for vegetated, reinforced slopes. Read the case study. Learn more here.;

The St. Louis Chapter of the Geo-Institute is joining with the University of Missouri-Columbia and the Missouri University of Science and Technology to launch a new geotechnical engineering and geo-environmental conference: Geoconfluence. This annual conference will include papers and case histories focused on the geotechnical engineering and geo-environmental industry. This one-day conference is open to all and is scheduled for Friday, 28 October 2011. Dr. Robert Holtz from the University of Washington is scheduled to deliver the Terzaghi Lecture on Geosynthetics at this event. Download the event brochure (PDF). Learn more here.;

In March 2014, I published “A Brief History of Geotextiles” in Land and Water Magazine. (A copy of that article may be downloaded in PDF here.) It would take...

ASTM's Committee D35 on Geosynthetics will be meeting June 26 in Denver. "Geosynthetics in Roadways and Pavements" will be the focus of Subcommittee 01 on Mechanical Properties that day. Regular Task Group meetings on properties frequently used to characterize geogrids and geotextiles used in roads and pavements will be sandwiched around an hour long update by Steve Perkins on the encouraging developments and correlations of index, bench-scale, and full-scale separation/stabilization test methods. Learn more here.;

Prof. Robert M. Koerner has come out with the Sixth Edition of Designing With Geosynthetics. As with prior volumes, it comes with helpful test questions after each chapter with answers provided at the end of the book. Currently, Koerner is professor emeritus of Drexel University.

In a major bid to go global, Reliance Industries Ltd., the giant Indian energy and materials company, made an offer of around $12 billion to take a controlling interest in Lyondell Basell Industries when the chemical maker exits bankruptcy, people familiar with the situation said. Learn more here.;

Geosynthetics magazine, published by the Industrial Fabrics Association International, has launched a new website. The revamped design includes a cleaner presentation and more interactive content, such as a blog from editor Ron Bygness. Learn more here.;

The latest issue of GIGSA News from the Geosynthetics Interest Group of South Africa is available. This issue includes stories on the return of HDPE geomembrane failures in Asia, specification savers, IGS election results, a letter from GIGSA President Garth James, "Geosynthetic Soil Reinforcement--Polymeric Geocomposites for Hydraulic Retaining Walls," defending the beaches of Durban, and more. GIGSA is the South Africa Chapter of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS). Read the issue in PDF here.

US President Barack Obama signed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) into law on Tuesday, June 10. This bill is significant for its lack of earmarks, its...

TenCate Mirafi® RS580i outperformed all geosynthetics tested by the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University in Bozeman, (MT) USA. This independent full-scale unpaved roadway performance study - called...

California needs to spend $17 billion to repair levees because more than half of these structures are substandard, according to a flood plan from the state Department of Water Resources. "The system is based on antiquated technologies, so you have to upgrade it and keep in mind changing societal demands. Modern flood control is wickedly complicated, because it has to take into account a lot of factors," said Jeffrey Mount, a professor at the University of California, Davis. Learn more here.;

The National Association of County Engineers (NACE) will hold its 2011 conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 17-21 April 2011. As the event comes to the North Star state; and, appropriately enough, will run with the theme, "Guiding with Vision." Learn more at the association website. Learn more here.;

J & S Franklin's DefenCell™ Profile 300 has recently successfully completed a number of vehicle crash tests to meet the PAS68 protection standards. It is made from strong geotextile materials, which when layered in construction can be used to build barriers, berms or bunds. PAS 68, (Publicly Available Specification), is a BSI classification for vehicle security barriers, and provides a comparative method of assessing the performance of any system designed to stop vehicles.

The floods affecting American waterways in 2011 have been, for many communities, historic, as have the engineering solutions being utilized. American Environmental Group, Ltd. (AEGL) has been part of a first-of-its-kind emergency levee protection effort in Mississippi that has used impermeable geomembrane liner to help secure the backside of the Yazoo River Backwater Levee. This emergency strategy, directed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), is designed to prevent catastrophic erosion and failure of the levee in the event the flood water overtopped the levee.

Environmental Connection 2011 (EC11), annual conference and expo of the International Erosion Control Association (IECA), brings together the industry's best and brightest for a week of industry-leading education, networking and access to the largest expo hall of its kind. The event offers short courses, technical sessions, an exhibit hall, numerous networking opportunities, certification, and much more. EC11 will be held 20-23 February 2011. The event organizers report that limited space is still available in select EC11 courses. Learn more.

Tensar International's Commercial Director, John Kiely, is accompanying UK Prime Minister David Cameron as part of the high-level UKTI visit to Russia on the 12-13 September 2011. There are enormous opportunities in Russia’s developing infrastructure over the next few years. The attraction to Tensar is that much of this infrastructure will be over poor ground which needs extensive stabilisation to carry the loads imposed by the traffic and construction. Read more.

Professor Shobha K. Bhatia has been awarded a Chancellor's Citation for Excellence at Syracuse University, where she teaches civil and environmental engineering. Five people were honored during a February 12 awards ceremony. Dr. Bhatia's 20 years of geotechnical and geosynthetic engineering work was recognized for her broad range of professional contributions (including soils characterization in geosynthetic applications, waste containment, and road construction), dedication to research, the fostering of international work and dialogue, and social justice. We congratulate her on this well-deserved honor. Learn more here.;