10
Note from the President 2 Clay-liners.com 3 YGEC Call for Registration 4 GeoAfrica ‘09 – Newsflash 4 IGS Chapter Report – GIGSA 4 ‘Toti Beach Reclamation 6 N14 Sink Hole Rehabilitation 7 Editorial Guide- lines 9 August Diary 10 To say we live in turbulent times might, to some, seem an understatement. All of usin the businessworld are facing major issues, including rising crime, socio-economic instability and envi- ronmental concerns, to name but a few. All these factors have a direct and very consider- able impact on how we do business and how we live. Companies today need to be aware of every aspect of the global environment we op- erate in and, where possible, we must go out of our way to make a difference. This will not only be to our advantage but also to the advantage of future generations. The management of Aquatan has made a conscious decision to follow the lead of com- pany founder and chairman, Clifford Gundle, by applying clear-headed business rationale to the problemswe are faced with in South Africa today. An example of this is that each academic year the “ Gundle South African Public Fellowship Fund” makesa US$ 250 000 grant. This fund- ing is to enable outstanding South African pro- fessionalsin the field of law enforcement, crimi- nal justice, policing and public safety to attend one of the world’s most prestigious academic institutions: the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, with a view to obtaining a Mastersdegree in Public Admini- stration. The vision behind thisisthat the recipient of thisdegree will thus be empowered to make a meaningful contribution to improving the safety and security of all South Africans. Each day vulnerable children and orphans, whose communities are being devastated by the impact of the AIDS pandemic, are unable to accessthe social grantsto which they are enti- tled, because of lackof identity and other docu- mentation required for themselvesand their par- ents/caregivers. Without proof of identity, these children and their parents/caregivers can go through their entire liveswithout vital social secu- rity support. Kevin Gundle, who is an Aquatan Director and a Trustee of “ ARK – Absolute Return for Kids ”, ensures that our company is actively in- volved in the betterment of these children’slives. ARK enablesteamsof people to help commu- nities in need of grant assistance, and support them through the process of acquiring the rele- vant documentation and submitting applica- tions. Over and above the support given to these communities, ARK has recently donated R 41 million to the Western Cape Department of Health. These funds will be utilised for the set- ting up of sorely needed HIV clinicsin the area. Aquatan has provided professional service to a widespread market and has successfully installed over 40 mil- lion square meters of various types of Geomembranes and Geosynthetic Clay Liners, over a period of 42 years. Applications for these products range from single liner installations in agricultural applications, to intricate multiple composite lining systems for the containment of highly hazardous wastes and by-products. Due to this considerable experience we have come to realise the critical impor- tance of providing industry with state- of-the-art, high quality solutions. Ac- cordingly, Aquatan is the first (and Engineered Linings Kaytech Aquatan Gundle Geosynthetics ARQ Consulting Engineers DuPont SA Geotextiles Africa I-Corp International Jones & Wagener Land Rehabilitation Systems Naue GmbH & Co. KG Reinforced Earth South Africa SRK Consulting Maccaferri South Africa Geotechnologies GAST International GIGSA is a Non-Profit Organisation No: 55-653-NPO

Jul 2008 NEWSLETTER FINAL - Gigsa South Africagigsa.org/gigsawp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/GIGSA_Aug...of-the-art, high quality solutions. Ac-cordingly, Aquatan is the first (and Engineered

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Page 1: Jul 2008 NEWSLETTER FINAL - Gigsa South Africagigsa.org/gigsawp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/GIGSA_Aug...of-the-art, high quality solutions. Ac-cordingly, Aquatan is the first (and Engineered

Note from the President

2

Clay-liners.com 3

YGEC Call for Registration

4

GeoAfrica ‘09 – Newsflash

4

IGS Chapter Report – GIGSA

4

‘Toti Beach Reclamation

6

N14 Sink Hole Rehabilitation

7

Editorial Guide-lines

9

August Diary 10

����������������������������������

To say we live in turbulent times might, to some, seem an understatement. All of us in the business world are facing major issues, including rising crime, socio-economic instability and envi-ronmental concerns, to name but a few. All these factors have a direct and very consider-able impact on how we do business and how we live.

Companies today need to be aware of every aspect of the global environment we op-erate in and, where possible, we must go out of our way to make a difference. This will not only be to our advantage but also to the advantage of future generations.

The management of Aquatan has made a conscious decision to follow the lead of com-pany founder and chairman, Clifford Gundle, by applying clear-headed business rationale to the problems we are faced with in South Africa today.

������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ��

An example of this is that each academic year the “Gundle South African Public Fellowship Fund” makes a US$ 250 000 grant. This fund-ing is to enable outstanding South African pro-fessionals in the field of law enforcement, crimi-nal justice, policing and public safety to attend one of the world’s most prestigious academic institutions: the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, with a view to obtaining a Masters degree in Public Admini-stration.

The vision behind this is that the recipient of this degree will thus be empowered to make a meaningful contribution to improving the safety and security of all South Africans.

� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � ���������� � ���� � ���� � ���� � ���� � ���� � ���� � ���� � �� ��

Each day vulnerable children and orphans, whose communities are being devastated by

the impact of the AIDS pandemic, are unable to access the social grants to which they are enti-tled, because of lack of identity and other docu-mentation required for themselves and their par-ents/caregivers. Without proof of identity, these children and their parents/caregivers can go through their entire lives without vital social secu-rity support.

Kevin Gundle, who is an Aquatan Director and a Trustee of “ARK – Absolute Return for Kids”, ensures that our company is actively in-volved in the betterment of these children’s lives. ARK enables teams of people to help commu-nities in need of grant assistance, and support them through the process of acquiring the rele-vant documentation and submitting applica-tions.

Over and above the support given to these communities, ARK has recently donated R 41 million to the Western Cape Department of Health. These funds will be utilised for the set-ting up of sorely needed HIV clinics in the area.

� �� � ����� �� �� � ����� �� �� � ����� �� �� � ����� �� �� � ����� �� �� � ����� �� �� � ����� �� �� � ����� ��

Aquatan has provided professional service to a widespread market and has successfully installed over 40 mil-l ion square meters of various types of Geomembranes and Geosynthetic Clay Liners, over a period of 42 years.

Applications for these products range from single l iner installations in agricultural applications, to intricate multiple composite l ining systems for the containment of highly hazardous wastes and by-products. Due to this considerable experience we have come to realise the critical impor-tance of providing industry with state-of-the-art, high quality solutions. Ac-cordingly, Aquatan is the first (and

���� ���������� ������ ��

� Engineered Linings � Kaytech � Aquatan � Gundle Geosynthetics � ARQ Consulting Engineers � DuPont SA � Geotextiles Africa � I-Corp International � Jones & Wagener � Land Rehabilitation Systems � Naue GmbH & Co. KG � Reinforced Earth South Africa �� SRK Consulting � Maccaferri South �

Africa � Geotechnologies � GAST International�

��� � � � � �� �� � � �� ����� ������� � � � � �� �� � � �� ����� ������� � � � � �� �� � � �� ����� ������� � � � � �� �� � � �� ����� ������� � � � � �� �� � � �� ����� ������� � � � � �� �� � � �� ����� ������� � � � � �� �� � � �� ����� ������� � � � � �� �� � � �� ����� ���� ��������

� � � � ������� �� �� �� � ��� � � � ������� �� �� �� � ��� � � � ������� �� �� �� � ��� � � � ������� �� �� �� � ��� � � � ������� �� �� �� � ��� � � � ������� �� �� �� � ��� � � � ������� �� �� �� � ��� � � � ������� �� �� �� � �� ��

��� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� � �������������������������� �������������������� ��������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������

�������������

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GIGSA is a Non-Profit Organisation No: 55-653-NPO

Page 2: Jul 2008 NEWSLETTER FINAL - Gigsa South Africagigsa.org/gigsawp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/GIGSA_Aug...of-the-art, high quality solutions. Ac-cordingly, Aquatan is the first (and Engineered

� ���� ������ �� �� ���� ���� ������ �� �� ���� ���� ������ �� �� ���� ���� ������ �� �� ���� ���� ������ �� �� ���� ���� ������ �� �� ���� ���� ������ �� �� ���� ���� ������ �� �� �����Well the die has been cast and we are now officially hosting the first African Regional Geosynthetics Conference, GeoAfrica2009, in Cape Town next year. The task is huge but not beyond us. Every encouragement and assistance should be given to Peter Legg and his

GeoAfrica 2009 committee. Peter Davies has been hard at work ensuring the first announce-

ment went out to other regional conferences like GeoAmericas in Cancun, Mexico earlier this year and GeoAsia 2008 in Shanghai, China last month. Daniele Cazuffi, the past President of the IGS, was kind enough to make the GeoAfrica PowerPoint presentation on our behalf.

EuroGeo 2008 in Edinburgh, Scotland, in September this year will also have the announcement available and a presentation on GeoAfrica 2009 will also be made.

The call for abstracts as well as sponsorship and exhibition op-portunities has also gone out and can be viewed on the conference web site at: www.geoafrica2009.org

Your participation is encouraged to help us make this confer-ence a most memorable one. Details are highlighted elsewhere in this newsletter.

The final changes and modifications are currently being made in committee to the GIGSA GCL specification guideline and will be the subject of a series of workshops in Gauteng, Cape Town and Durban in the last week of August. Again, your attendance and participation is encouraged.

We were fortunate to have South African delegates at the GeoAmericas 2008 conference and they, along with the South Afri-can delegates to EuroGeo 2008 in September, will be presenting their views and observations at a series of reports-back on these con-ferences in late November. The one in Gauteng will coincide with our AGM on 19 or 20 November.

The final dates and venues will be confirmed in a notice to the members and other interested parties.

The demand for geosynthetics on our proj-ects around the country continues unabated, although a significant downturn is evident in the building sector of the construction industry.

The question on everyone’s lips at the moment is whether we can deliver on the 2010 World Cup. Seth Blatter, President of FIFA, is quoted as saying:

“At the moment an earthquake would have to occur to pre-vent the World Cup from being held in South Africa. However, I would be a negligent FIFA boss if there was no Plan B in the cupboard. The World Cup is a logistical challenge. But where there is a will there is a way. South Africa wants to show the worlds that they can do it.” (The Mercury, 30 June 2008). Fortunately South Africa falls outside of the major tectonic plate

movements of the earth and we are determined and resilient. Nevertheless, the acid test will be at the Confederations Cup be-

ing hosted in South Africa next year in June. We will surely know of our fate by the time GeoAfrica 2009 takes place, and the event in itself “is a logistical challenge” for GIGSA

The electricity load shedding has eased slightly but many more power outages are expected this winter as we, as a country, limp painfully toward new power stations and the refurbishment of those that were mothballed. Again these plans present many opportuni-ties to the civil engineering industry and of course the geosynthetics world. If the momentum of Gautrain and the World Cup stadia is maintained for the design and construction of these new power plants, then the construction industry has got plenty to look forward to.

Of course the skills shortage continues to be a frustration in our in-dustry and it is interesting to note that although international movers are getting many calls daily from those wanting to emigrate they do indicate that there are many returning!

Nevertheless the volatility and fluidity in the movement of profes-sional engineers and graduates between different companies and practices continues, with the consequence that salary packages in-

������������ ���������������������������������������� ��������� ���������� ���� �� ����� !�!� ���� " #��� $��$% �!�!� ���� " #��� $��$% �!�!� ���� " #��� $��$% �!�!� ���� " #��� $��$% �&$�'�������� �� �����

������������� �����������������������������$�(����������������� ���� ��������� � ����� ������������������!!�������� ��� �� ��������� �$� �������

currently the only) South African registered member of the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI). We are therefore in the unique position to draw on the GSI’s vast inter-national studies, experiments and debates, enabling us to apply this knowledge to each of our client’s in-dividual needs.

Currently, our exclusive African association with the International Association of Geosynthetic In-stallers (IAGI) enables us to have our welding techni-cians internationally certified through rigorous exams and practical tests, and many of our technicians have obtained this sought-after certification. By ensuring our installation personnel are well trained and con-stantly updated with the latest technologies, and

through working together with our clients, we strive to ensure a safer environment for all. Through these ef-forts it is Aquatan’s intention to remain ‘The Innova-tive Pacesetter In Geosynthetic Technology’.For more information please contact Morne Breytenbach on tel: +27 (11) 974 5271 / [email protected] www.aquatan.com

Page 3: Jul 2008 NEWSLETTER FINAL - Gigsa South Africagigsa.org/gigsawp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/GIGSA_Aug...of-the-art, high quality solutions. Ac-cordingly, Aquatan is the first (and Engineered

������������ ���������������������������������������� ��������� ���������� ���� �� ����� !�!� ���� " #��� $��$% �!�!� ���� " #��� $��$% �!�!� ���� " #��� $��$% �!�!� ���� " #��� $��$% �&$�'�������� �� �����

������������� �����������������������������$�(����������������� ���� ��������� � ����� ������������������!!�������� ��� �� ��������� �$�

� ���� ������ �� �� ����� � � ��� ���� ������ �� �� ����� � � ��� ���� ������ �� �� ����� � � ��� ���� ������ �� �� ����� � � ��� ���� ������ �� �� ����� � � ��� ���� ������ �� �� ����� � � ��� ���� ������ �� �� ����� � � ��� ���� ������ �� �� ����� � � �� �

�������

�� � ��������! � � �� ����� � � �� � ��������! � � �� ����� � � �� � ��������! � � �� ����� � � �� � ��������! � � �� ����� � � �� � ��������! � � �� ����� � � �� � ��������! � � �� ����� � � �� � ��������! � � �� ����� � � �� � ��������! � � �� ����� � � �crease but at a cost to the employer. On the one hand this is favour-able because our civil engineers deserve their day in the sun at last, but of course this also means that the individual is now faced with doing the work of two or more. This may be seen by some as the employer is gaining the proverbial ”pound of flesh” but, more than anything, it is the skills shortage that is the main cause. The techno-logical age has its contribution to make in that the speed of informa-tion generation and transfer demands that we produce a greater vol-ume of work faster in a shorter time.

It reminds me of the “Four Yorkshiremen” in a Monty Python sketch - each trying to outdo the other in terms of how tough things really were when they grew up.Finally, one not to be outdone by the others says to the effect: “You think that’s tough! I had get up in the morning at 10 o’ clock at night half an hour before I went to bed, eat a lump of coal and work 29 hours a day down at the mill!”

I sincerely hope that we haven’t reached this extreme level of how tough life can really become!

Geosynthetic Greetings, Garth James – GIGSA President

ELCO Solutions and Kaytech Engineered Fabrics, leading manu-facturers of geosynthetic clay liners and associated geosynthetic so-lutions, have joined forces to provide support for designing and/or building containment or sealing projects.

These two companies have extensive experience in landfills and waste containment, mining, land remediation, secondary con-tainment (or hydro-carbon storage), basement and structural water-proofing, landscaping and water storages, canals and tunnels. This experience is supported by investments in state-of-the-art manufac-turing and laboratory facilities.

As a result, ELCO and Kaytech have joined forces to launch a new web site, www.clay-liner.com, in order to offer a central re-source for assisting customers with sealing systems for containment projects. With experience in all aspects of containment projects (including drainage, leachate collection, protection geotextiles, etc), www.clay-liner.com is a partnership with the people ready to assist. To find out more about this partnership, visit :

www.clay-liner.com

��� ��������������� ��������������� �� �� �� �������

�������� � �� � � �� � " � � � � � � � �� � � � � � � � � ������ � �� �� � � �� � " � � � � � � � �� � � � � � � � � ������ � �� �� � � �� � " � � � � � � � �� � � � � � � � � ������ � �� �� � � �� � " � � � � � � � �� � � � � � � � � ������ � �� �� � � �� � " � � � � � � � �� � � � � � � � � ������ � �� �� � � �� � " � � � � � � � �� � � � � � � � � ������ � �� �� � � �� � " � � � � � � � �� � � � � � � � � ������ � �� �� � � �� � " � � � � � � � �� � � � � � � � � ������ � �

���� � # � � $ ���� � # � � $ ���� � # � � $ ���� � # � � $ ���� � # � � $ ���� � # � � $ ���� � # � � $ ���� � # � � $ You are invited to attend a workshop on the above.

This is a GIGSA initiative driven since 2003 by experienced practi-tioners and suppliers in the geosynthetic industry. These workshops will be extremely valuable to designers and users of GCLs.

The workshops will run from 15h00-17h00. Registration will be from 14h30. Fees will be charged as follows:

GIGSA Members – R100.00 | Non-GIGSA Members – R150.00

% ��& � �% ��& � �% ��& � �% ��& � �% ��& � �% ��& � �% ��& � �% ��& � �

26 August 2008 KwaZulu-Natal

Assagay Hotel, KZN

Marco Pauselli [email protected]

27 August 2008 Western Cape

University of Stellen-bosch Business

School, Bellville

Peter Hardie [email protected]

28 August 2008 Gauteng

DBSA, Midrand

Kim Barnard [email protected]

Page 4: Jul 2008 NEWSLETTER FINAL - Gigsa South Africagigsa.org/gigsawp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/GIGSA_Aug...of-the-art, high quality solutions. Ac-cordingly, Aquatan is the first (and Engineered

' & ���� � ��� ���� � ��� ������� �� ������ ��( ) ) *' & ���� � ��� ���� � ��� ������� �� ������ ��( ) ) *' & ���� � ��� ���� � ��� ������� �� ������ ��( ) ) *' & ���� � ��� ���� � ��� ������� �� ������ ��( ) ) *' & ���� � ��� ���� � ��� ������� �� ������ ��( ) ) *' & ���� � ��� ���� � ��� ������� �� ������ ��( ) ) *' & ���� � ��� ���� � ��� ������� �� ������ ��( ) ) *' & ���� � ��� ���� � ��� ������� �� ������ ��( ) ) *

������������ ���������������������������������������� ��������� ���������� ���� �� ����� !�!� ���� " #��� $��$% �!�!� ���� " #��� $��$% �!�!� ���� " #��� $��$% �!�!� ���� " #��� $��$% �&$�'�������� �� �����

������������� �����������������������������$�(����������������� ���� ��������� � ����� ������������������!!�������� ��� �� ��������� �$��������

ing, an afternoon technical tour to a con-struction site of interest in the Durban area and the hire of costumes for the conference medieval banquet. Fees: R2500 (no VAT charged) Banking Details : SAICE Geotechnical Division Bank: Standard Bank Branch: Rivonia 001255 Acct No : 02 302 4402 For more information, contact: Lesley Stephenson on Tel/Fax 011 447 1490 or Email: [email protected].

Its happening at last! The first African Re-gional Geosynthetics conference is up and running. Please see the our new web site at www.geoafrica2009.org for more informa-tion.

We trust that our membership will whole-heartedly support this event, the first of its type in Africa.

The organising committee would like to ask benefactor members to post this news on your web sites (where you have one), and to distribute the announcement to all on your extensive lists of contacts, who you feel might be interested in this event.

See you all in Cape Town in September 2009!

Peter Davies MIGS, MGIGSA, SFIWMSA

Chair: Technical Committee GeoAfrica 2009 Conference

I took over from the outgoing President, Pe-ter Legg, in late November 2006 to start my two year stint as President of GIGSA. I thank him for his support and his selfless attitude shown during his tenure.

He certainly has set a good example and left me with a hard act to follow. GIGSA is fortunate to have a very strong committee comprising experienced members as well as energetic new blood to keep everyone on their toes. Their hard work in amongst their busy schedules is greatly appreciated.

GIGSA’s main goals for the period 2007-2008 are simple: • Improve communication with, and

service delivery to, our members • Raise the profile of GIGSA as a re-

spected society • Establish regular training programmes

and seminars on geosynthetics • Strengthen relationships with affiliated

and allied societies and institutions

“Geotechnics – 2010 & Beyond” 20, 21 & 22 August 2008 The YGE call for papers has attracted over 30 papers addressing the following criteria: • Experiences of young geotechnical

practitioners grappling with an unprece-dented demand for their skills, and the technical challenges facing the industry over the next couple of years;

• Highlighting the role of young geotech-nical practitioners in the mining and civil construction industry;

• Sharing of knowledge and experience to indicate the direction of geotechnical engineering in the future.

Background The Geotechnical Division of SAICE has been hosting local YGE Conferences since the 1980’s. In 2003 the Division obtained the approval of their international body (the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, ISSMGE) to host the 1st African Regional YGE Confer-ence (AYGE) in Swakopmund, Namibia.

This was followed later the same year by the 2nd IYGEC in Romania. It is a tradition of the YGE that the Best Presenter and the author of the Best Paper are sponsored to attend the next international conference. The next international conference is in Egypt in 2009.

YGE therefore cordially invite you to at-tend their conference in 2008 held at the Camelot Conference Centre, Hillcrest Na-tal – see: www.greensleeves.co.za

The conference centre does not offer ac-commodation, but the organisers advise you to make your room bookings in good time. Please contact Lesley Stephenson, Conference Secretary, on Tel / Fax (011) 447 1490 or email [email protected] for a list of possible accommodation venues.

NOTE: Accommodation costs are NOT included in the conference fees Conference Fees Fees include a set of proceedings, teas and lunches each day, the conference banquet, Meet-and-Greet function on the first even-

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Page 5: Jul 2008 NEWSLETTER FINAL - Gigsa South Africagigsa.org/gigsawp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/GIGSA_Aug...of-the-art, high quality solutions. Ac-cordingly, Aquatan is the first (and Engineered

A series of reports-back on GeoAmericas 2008 and EuroGeo 2008 by South African delegates to these conferences is planned for late November 2008 in the three main centres of South Africa, namely, Johannes-burg, Cape Town and Durban. Specifications and Guidelines The GIGSA continues to work on generat-ing specification guideline documents on the application of Geosynthetics in the differ-ent civil engineering disciplines, inter alia: • The SANS 207 Code of Practice on

Reinforcing Soils and Fills using Geo-synthetics (based on BS 8006) is avail-able through the South African Na-tional Standards authority (SANS). A series of workshops on this document is planned for early 2009.

• “Asphalt Reinforcement Guidelines” is a draft document under the auspices of the Road Pavement Forum was in-cluded as a draft in the proceedings of the Committee on Asphaltic Pavements of Southern Africa (CAPSA) 2007 Con-ference which took place in Gaborone, Botswana, in September 2007. The contents of this document were the sub-ject of a series of workshops through the Society for Asphalt Technology (SAT) in KZN, Gauteng and Cape Town to get buy-in and feedback from the road pavement and surfacing industry. This Guideline document has now been completed and will be published as an Asphalt Academy document in the second half of 2008.

• The GCL specification guideline drafted by a GIGSA technical sub-committee is being finalised and will be the subject of a series of workshops in the main cities of South Africa in late August 2008.

Big News! The GIGSA was encouraged by the IGS Council (Daniele Cazzuffi) to host the first African Geosynthetic Regional Conference and we as a committee have accepted the challenge. The conference, known as GeoAfrica 2009, will be held at the Cape Sun Hotel in Cape Town from 2 to 5 September 2009.

We in South Africa are experiencing boom times in Civil Engineering Construction prompted by the multi-billion Rand projects for the Gautrain Rapid Rail-link and the 2010 World Cup. The geosynthetic pros-pects are great as a result.

Many questions have been raised as to whether South Africa will be able to deliver on the 2010 World Cup. Five new stadiums are being built and many others re-furbished for this prestigious event. At the last FIFA in-spection the progress was well on track and the litmus test comes next June when South Africa hosts the 2009 Confederations Cup.

The role that geosynthetics play in the speedy delivery of such structures can be sig-nificant and they are being used.

Events GIGSA conducted a series of reports back around the country on the 8th International Conference held in September 2006 dur-ing May 2007.

Reporting on international trends and in-teresting applications and research into geo-synthetics involving 351 technical papers and case studies, as well as three keynote and one Special Giroud lecture was a chal-lenging task but it was one that Danie Brink, Peter Legg and myself took seriously to en-able us to give our members and geosyn-thetic friends a comprehensive report-back in as concise a way as possible.

The reports-back in Durban, Cape Town and Gauteng were well received and well attended.

Five of our fellow country men were fortu-nate enough to attend a training seminar in Wurzburg, Germany in April 2007 on the long term performance of geosynthetics.

For the past few years a series of seminars titled “How Safe is that Concrete Retaining Block Wall?” have been held in different cit-ies of South Africa. Run by the Concrete Manufacturers Association (CMA) the focus has been on “Design Aspects” and Geosyn-thetics with respect to “Polymers, products, properties and their behaviour” in flexible concrete retaining block walls.

As a service to its members and any inter-ested and affected parties, the CMA has put a lot of effort into making sure that specifiers and installers are given the correct guide-lines and procedures for the design and con-struction of safe concrete retaining block

walls. GIGSA is fortunate to have been in-

volved with two of the presentations being made by one of our Past Presidents, Alan Parrock, and myself. The role of the contrac-tor is also part of the programme in these seminars.

GIGSA endeavours to do the same to keep its members and the industry in gen-eral informed on developments in geosyn-thetics as well as making a contribution to events involved in the education of individu-als in this field through visiting experts from overseas.

One such event was the Landfill 2007 Seminar held at Misty Hills, Muldersdrift in Gauteng, South Africa, from 12-14 Septem-ber. This successful seminar was co-hosted by the GIGSA and the Institute of Waste Management of South Africa. We were pleased to have Dr. Abdelmalek Bouazza of Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, deliver a keynote address on “Recent ad-vances in GCL research and relevance to landfill liners design”. As part of the seminar he also ran a short course on GCLs as part of the Seminar at the Cradle of Humankind at Maropeng, not too far from the Landfill 2007 venue.

GIGSA used the opportunity to make their 2006 awards and we congratulate the following deserving recipients:

• Development in Technology: Kelvin Legge and Aquatan (Pty) Ltd for the development of a system that mitigates the negative effects of heat on geosyn-thetic materials in barrier systems.

• Construction: Aquatan (Pty) Ltd for the Geomembrane Lining System to the Effluent Treatment Plant at Mondi in Richards Bay.

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Page 6: Jul 2008 NEWSLETTER FINAL - Gigsa South Africagigsa.org/gigsawp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/GIGSA_Aug...of-the-art, high quality solutions. Ac-cordingly, Aquatan is the first (and Engineered

A GIGSA sub-committee has been formed under the Chairmanship of Peter Legg to facilitate the planning of this conference along with a professional conference organ-iser. The first announcement has been cir-culated and publicised at GeoAmericas in Cancun earlier this year as well as at Geo-synthetics Asia in Shanghai last month. The same will be done at EuroGeo4 in Ed-inburgh in September. The call for abstracts has been distributed and posted on the web site. You can visit the website for more de-tails and information at: www.geoafrica2009.org

The GIGSA is very excited to be hosting this prestigious event and we do not under-estimate the task at hand. We will gratefully accept any help we can get.

See you all at GeoAfrica 2009! Geosynthetic Greetings, Garth James – GIGSA President

Beach Reclamation, Amanzimtoti, KZN In March 2007 the coastline of KwaZulu-Natal experienced extreme weather condi-tions, including the effects of cyclone activity to the north east aggravated by spring high tides and a cut-off low pressure system of the coast. The resultant sea storm and high seas wreaked havoc along the coastline and caused damage to public beaches and pri-vate property running into hundreds of mil-lions of Rand. One of the many beaches affected was the famous Amanzimtoti tidal pool beach.

The high seas eroded up to 90 metres of this beach in places and badly damaged the vegetated sand dunes and shoreline, leaving vital services exposed. The Coastal and Drainage department of eThekwini Metro required that the sand dunes be reha-bilitated as part of the emergency protection works to prevent further damage should there be a reoccurrence of such heavy seas. From an environmental point of view hard engineering solutions such as rock-filled ga-

bion baskets would not be entertained as, apart from being unnatural in the marine environment, if eroded from their place-ment the components may be redistributed along the beach posing a hazard to bathers and users of the beach.

Kaytech offered their soft engineering solution, EnviroRock™ Geocontainer Bags. The Geocontainer bag is durable, robust and aesthetically pleasing, and was accepted by the client and the consulting engineers.

The EnviroRock™ Geocontainer fabric used in these protective bags is comprised of a bi-component geotextile, the inner layer for strength and the outer layer for robust-ness, durability and abrasion resistance. The outer polypropylene fabric is treated for UV stability and made in a beige colour that blends naturally with the beach surround-ings.

The bi-component Geocontainer fabric are tested for Mass, Thickness, Tensile (MD and AD), CBR, Modified Puncture and Drop Cone to ensure adherence to the required specification.

The bags are hydraulically filled to about 80% of their capacity with about 2.5 m3 of beach sand from the site using a spe-cially designed hopper, and weigh approxi-mately 4 tons each. bidim® A5 was installed as a separation filter curtain on the exposed slope before the Geocontainer bags were placed to prevent further hydraulic erosion of the dune sand behind the Geocontainer bags by wave action. The EnviroRock™ Geocontainer bags were then stacked up the prepared slope at an angle. This is to prevent further sand loss at the toe of the dunes and also reduces wave energy by al-lowing some wave run-up over the sloping

structure. The contractor, DC Earthmovers, found

the system quite simple to install and used local labour to stitch the open end of the bags closed. The construction using 2 000 Geocontainer bags was completed with considerable ease in a relatively short period thus complying with the emergency protec-tion criteria.

It is advisable that a sand cover be main-tained over the Geocontainers on a continu-ous basis with a view to re-establishing vege-tation and to protect the bags from vandal-ism and long term exposure and degrada-tion.

Consequently a biodegradable Soil Saver layer was placed over the sand cover and dune vegetation planted to provide a natu-ral finish to the slope.

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Page 7: Jul 2008 NEWSLETTER FINAL - Gigsa South Africagigsa.org/gigsawp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/GIGSA_Aug...of-the-art, high quality solutions. Ac-cordingly, Aquatan is the first (and Engineered

The existing road surface on a section of the National Route N14/P158-1 exhibited a large deformation due to subsidence from sinkhole activity. The consultants, Vela VKE, sought design assistance from special-ist geotechnical engineers, ARQ.

The Department of Public Transport, Roads and Works of the Gauteng Provincial Administration issued a contract for The Re-instatement of the Sinkhole at km 7.8S.

Sinkholes are a huge problem in the Centu-rion area. These are a consequence of the lowering of the water table within the under-lying dolomites, creating cavities that may ultimately lead to gradual or sudden subsi-dence. High-strength, low-strain, creep-resistant reinforcing geogrids within the layer works are the ideal geosynthetic solution in these areas to counter potentially cata-strophic failure of roads and structures.

After the extent of the problem area was identified and demarcated a temporary traf-fic deviation was constructed. The recom-mended design according to the SANS 207 code of practice “Reinforcing Soils and Fills using Geosynthetics” and the subse-quent construction by South Sound Civils required that the road formation be re-moved to a depth of 300 mm, and the de-formed area filled to form a level working platform on which to place the geogrid. RockGrid™ PC 100/100, a composite polyester reinforcing geotextile with high bi-axial strength at low strain was selected for the remedial work. The bidim® fleece com-ponent protects the polyester yarn from me-chanical damage during installation and reduces any pore water pressure build-up

along the plain of the geotextile, thereby improving the shear resistance of the soil/geotextile interface.

An overlap of 500 mm between adja-cent roll widths of 5.0 m was an installation requirement. Sand was placed between the overlap to create friction between the layers.

Nails 15 cm long with washers were used to peg the RockGrid™ PC 100/100 down to hold the fab-ric in place during mechanical placement of the fi l l layers.

Back-tipping of the road re-instatement layers followed to pre-vent machinery from driving on top of the PC 100/100 and incurring damage to the reinforcing ele-ments.

Once the layer works were com-pleted the road was resurfaced and re-opened to traffic.

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Page 8: Jul 2008 NEWSLETTER FINAL - Gigsa South Africagigsa.org/gigsawp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/GIGSA_Aug...of-the-art, high quality solutions. Ac-cordingly, Aquatan is the first (and Engineered

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no guarantee that there will be space for such ma-terial in any particular publication.

• GIGSA News is published in two-column newspa-per format, and is only issued electronically in Adobe PDF format. Please take this into consid-eration when composing your submission, as it does affect how it wil l appear onscreen, and in print.

• Articles will be accepted on a first-come first-placed basis, and this invitation to submit mate-rial is open only to paid-up GIGSA members, sketches - material that does not print well, or ap-pear well on computer screens may be rejected).

• Longer articles may be considered if they are con-sidered to be particularly interesting, but there is no guarantee that there will be space for such ma-terial in any particular publication.

• GIGSA News is only issued electronically in Adobe PDF format. Please take this into consid-eration when composing your submission, as it does affect how it wil l appear onscreen, and in print.

• Articles will be accepted on a first-come first-placed basis, and this invitation to submit mate-rial is open only to paid-up GIGSA members.

• Parties wishing to submit an article should contact the editor ([email protected]) and a guideline document on required layout wil l be sent.

Guidelines for submissions: • Please ensure that articles are written in a profes-

sional technical style, and avoid "puffery" (a flat-tering commendation - especially when used for promotional purposes). GIGSA News will edit out any such content.

• There should be no product or company name in the title of the article. However, product, company or system names may be used and their benefits described in the text. (Exceptions may be made in the case of the Benefactor Article appearing on the first page).

• Comparisons which purport to i l lustrate that a given organisation, product or type of product is superior to others on the market wil l be returned to the submitter for modification.

• Articles that present design or test methods that are related to only one product wil l not be accept-able.

• If an article includes images, please send these separately as JPG or GIF images, as well as in-cluding the images in the document to show pre-ferred placement.

• Any images submitted without captions will not be used.

• Limit submissions to one A4 page where possible (including high-quality photographs and sketches - material that does not print well, or appear well on computer screens may be rejected).

• Longer articles may be considered if they are con-sidered to be particularly interesting, but there is

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Page 9: Jul 2008 NEWSLETTER FINAL - Gigsa South Africagigsa.org/gigsawp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/GIGSA_Aug...of-the-art, high quality solutions. Ac-cordingly, Aquatan is the first (and Engineered

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of, but this was not enough to win him first prize since the judgement is made on the quality of the flames and that of the singing, and af-ter fifteen bottles of lager he was badly out of tune." "He took exception to the result and hurled blue fireballs at the judge, singeing the front of Mrs Mifune's hair, entirely removing her eyebrows and lashes, and ruining the clothes of two nearby custom-ers. None of these people have returned to my bar. When our secu-rity staff approached he turned his attentions to them, making it al-most impossible to approach him. Our head bouncer had no choice but to hurl himself at Mr Otoma's knees, knocking his legs from under him." "The laws of physics are not to be disobeyed, and the force that pro-pelled Mr Otoma's legs backwards also pivoted around his centre of gravity and moved his upper body forward with equal velocity. It was his own fault he had his mouth open for the next belch, his own fault he held a lighted cigarette in front of it and it is own fault he swal-lowed that cigarette." "The Tike-Take bar takes no responsibility for the subsequent inter-nal combustion, rupture of his stomach lining, nor the third degree burns to his oesophagus, larynx and sinuses as the exploding gases forced their way out of his body. His consequential muteness and loss of employment are his own fault."

Mr. Otoma was unavailable for comment.

TOKYO (AP) The recent craze for hydrogen beer is at the heart of a three way lawsuit between unemployed stockbroker Toshira Otoma, the Tike-Take karaoke bar and the Asaka Beer Corporation. Mr Otoma is suing the bar and the brewery for selling toxic substances and is claiming damages for grievous bodily harm leading to the loss of his job. The bar is countersuing for defamation and loss of customers. The Asaka Beer corporation brews "Suiso" brand beer, where the carbon dioxide normally used to add fizz has been replaced by the more environmentally friendly hydrogen gas. A side effect of this has made the beer extremely popular at karaoke sing-along bars and discotheques. Hydrogen, like helium, is a gas lighter than air. Because hydrogen molecules are lighter than air, sound waves are transmitted more rapidly; individuals whose lungs are filled with the nontoxic gas can speak with an uncharacteristically high voice. Exploiting this quirk of physics, chic urbanites can now sing soprano parts on karaoke sing-along machines after consuming a big gulp of Suiso beer. The flammable nature of hydrogen has also become another sell-ing point, even though Asaka has not acknowledged that this was a deliberate marketing ploy. It has inspired a new fashion of blowing flames from one's mouth using a cigarette as an ignition source. Many new karaoke videos feature singers shooting blue flames in slow motion, while flame contests take place in pubs everywhere. "Mr Otoma has no-one to blame but himself. If he had not become drunk and disorderly, none of this would have happened. Our security guards undergo the most careful screening and training before they are allowed to deal with customers" said Mr Takashi Nomura, Manager of the Tike-Take bar. "Mr Otoma drank fifteen bottles of hydrogen beer in order to maxi-mise the size of the flames he could belch during the contest. He catapulted balls of fire across the room that Gojira would be proud

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