The Fabricated Geomembrane Institute (FGI) presented a short course in Columbus, Ohio on 27 October 2017 at the Ohio State University (OSU) to a sold out, standing room only crowd.  The short course was organized by the FGI and was offered in collaboration with the Ohio State University and Owens Corning.   Figure 1 shows the short course in the beautiful Ohio Staters Traditions Room at the OSU Union in which the short course took place. 

The excellent and timely presentations focused on the challenges and environmental concerns with containment and engineering technologies and how geosynthetics and geomembranes can be used to mitigate the concerns and risks.  The beginning portion of the short course focused on current advances in containment technology for water applications.  For example, a presentation by Allison MacKay of the Ohio State University, focused on the importance and scarcity of water resources, while Tim Stark of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), provided insight into the latest advancements in geo-storage designs and materials.  Doug Evans, of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) reviewed permitting geosynthetic liner systems for water resource projects.  Finally, Boyd Ramsey of Ramsey Consulting gave an informative presentation on geosynthetics in water containment and conveyance, followed by Joe Troxell, of S&ME, describing the large water reservoir containment project in Columbus, Ohio and the liner system design and factory v. field seam strengths.   

The second half of the presentations focused on various applications of geosynthetics in civil engineering applications.  For example, Chris Merklin, of the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) reviewed geosynthetics in Ohio roadway projects.  Gary Zych of American Electric Power in Columbus, Ohio gave an informative presentation on effective disposal techniques for Coal Combustion Residuals using PVC geomembranes

Brian Queen, of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) provided insight on geomembrane wrinkles and leak location surveys.  A presentation by Tim Stark detailed elevated temperatures in containment applications.  Finally, Daniel Pradel, of the Ohio State University, reviewed the use of MSE walls backfilled with lightweight cellular.  Nick Majerus of Demtech Services and Allen Bullock of Leister Technologies provided geomembrane welding demonstrations throughout the day.

Many attendee questions, comments, and experiences made the course a great success.  The topics and speakers from the successful short course are shown below:

Importance and Scarcity of Water Resources –Allison MacKay (OSU)

GeoStorage - Tim Stark (UIUC)

Permitting Geosynthetic Liner Systems for Water Resource Projects – Doug Evans (ODNR)

Geosynthetics in Water Containment & Conveyance:  Materials and Selection - Boyd Ramsey (Ramsey Consulting)

Columbus Reservoir Project - Joe Troxell (S&ME, Inc.)

Geomembrane Welding Demonstrations - Nick Majerus (DemTech) & Allen Bullock (Leister)

Geosynthetics in Ohio Roadway Projects - Chris Merklin (ODOT)

Containment for Coal Combustion Residuals - Gary Zych (AEP)

Geomembrane Wrinkles and Leak Location Surveys – Brian Queen (OEPA)

Elevated Temperatures in Containment Applications – Tim Stark (UIUC)

Use of MSE Walls Backfilled with Lightweight Cellular – Daniel Pradel (OSU)

Summary on Fabricated Geomembranes – Tim Stark (U. of Illinois)

The FGI is dedicated to advancing the use of fabricated geomembranes through education, research, and technology transfer.  The FGI is an industry sponsored consortium of manufacturers, fabricators/installers, designers, regulators, and material suppliers of fabricated geomembranes. For more information on the FGI, please visit www.fabricatedgeomembrane.com