The Young Professionals Program at GeoAmericas 2016 has announced its GeoPrediction Competition. This team-based event will focus on predicting the face displacement of an MSE wall constructed with poorly draining backfill. The objective of the GeoPrediction Competition is to develop an accurate prediction of the behavior of a geotechnical system involving geosynthetics, given detailed information regarding subsurface, boundary, and initial conditions, as well as the geotechnical, structural, and hydraulic loading.
The use of any available geotechnical software and empirical correlations is allowed, as is the development of a simple, accurate computer code for making this prediction.
Questions are welcomed. Email GeoAmericas2016youngmembers@gmail.com.
Eligibility, deadline, and the MSE problem description follows.
Eligibility: A Geosynthetics Prediction Team will consist of one or two younger members. There is no limit on the number of teams from a given institution or company.
Submittal: Each Geosynthetics Prediction Team will submit a Geosynthetics Prediction Report containing, a minimum, the following information:
Judging: The submitted Geosynthetics Prediction reports will be judged and ranked by a panel of geotechnical engineers. The judging will be based on the criteria listed below.
Announcement: The top three reports will be ranked by the panel and will be presented with awards during the IGS awards ceremony at GeoAmericas 2016.
Questions: Send any questions to GeoAmericas2016youngmembers@gmail.com.
PROBLEM DESCRIPTION & AVAILABLE DATA
A geotextile-reinforced prototype mechanically-stabilized earth (MSE) wall was constructed using wrap-around facing with a width of 4m, a height of 4m and a length of 4m. The wall was built with 10 geotextile layers evenly spaced at 0.40m vertically. The reinforcement length was equal to 3.0m. The MSE wall was constructed atop a firm foundation that can be assumed to be rigid with first geotextile layer placed at the ground level. In the design, the reduction factors against creep, durability and installation damage were taken as 1.0. The wrap-around system was assembled using metallic supports and wood boards, for a final angle of 78o from horizontal, resulting in a face slope of 5V:1H. The geotextile material used in the wall was a short-fiber needle-punched polyester non-woven geotextile with the following characteristics:
Backfill soil consisted of a fine to medium well-graded sand which was compacted using a vibratory plate hammer. The grain size distribution of backfill soil is presented in Figure 1. The maximum and minimum void ratios, emax and emin were 0.70 and 0.46. The backfill soil was compacted to a target relative density of 80% which corresponds to a void ratio of 0.51 and dry unit weight of 17.7 kN/m3. The backfill was placed in the field at a gravimetric water content of 5.0%. The soil has a drained friction angle of 33°.
Goal
Estimate the deflections of the wall face as a function of wall height due to the wall’s self-weight immediately after construction.
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VISIT THE GEOAMERICAS 2016 WEBSITE for more information on the Young Professionals Program, the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS), short courses, and much more.
GeoAmericas 2016, the 3rd Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics, has been years in the making. After successful iterations in Mexico (2008) and Peru (2012), the Americas-uniting geotechnical conference returns. Organizers have announced the opening of the GeoAmericas 2016 registration.
The event has already sold out the exhibit hall and the organizers have added extra rooms to the pre-conference room block to handle the early surge of bookings for exhibitors, attendees, and industry organizations intending to arrive early for meetings and personal time in Miami.
The official hotel is the Loews Miami Beach Hotel and Resort. All conference activities will take place at the Loews.
Attendees and exhibitors should be award of hotel room-booking scams that target conference goers. Please book your accommodations directly online–the Loews link on the previous line takes you directly to the special rate code–or call the hotel directly.
In addition to the support for the conference, sponsors are also contributing to a unique construction project in Charlier, Haiti.
Many conferences are targeted by hotel booking scams and room resellers who are not associated with the event. These non-sanctioned buyers convince potential attendees that rooms are selling out and that they hold the last few available rooms. They sell rooms at rates well-above the conference rate and often tack on hidden fees and expensive cancellation policies. Conference organizers and host hotels watch for these scams. Once problems are discovered, warnings are sent out.
GeoAmericas 2016, the 3rd Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics, alerted exhibitors yesterday that at least two known groups, unaffiliated with GeoAmericas, are targeting event exhibitors right now.
All exhibitor and sponsor companies, exhibitor personnel, and attendees are reminded that there are only two ways to officially book rooms for GeoAmericas 2016:
The Loews Miami Beach Hotel is the official hotel for GeoAmericas 2016. It is the site for all conference activities. Hotel Rooms are available now. While some of the pre-conference and post-conference nights are filling quickly, hundreds of rooms are still available during the event.
The GeoAmericas 2016 Organizing Committee and its host chapter, the North American Geosynthetics Society, invite you to join us at 2016’s most vibrant geosynthetics event!
Reserve Your Space
GeoAmericas 2016 is the 3rd Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics. Professionals from throughout the Americas will gather in Miami for technology transfer, networking, and project planning in key sectors such as mining, water resources, roadway infrastructure, waste management, and environmental protection.
The pre-sale period for booths and sponsorships has concluded, so booth and sponsorship positions are now open for reservation by the larger geotechnical engineering community. We invite you to review the Exhibition and Sponsorship Brochure (PDF) and online reservation information.
Strengthen Your Business
International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) Corporate Members enjoy a substantial discount on booths. Non-members can capitalize too. Join the IGS and immediately enjoy a number of high-level benefits on GeoAmericas conference participation, as well as benefit from membership before and after the event.
We welcome your questions, we encourage your interaction, and we look forward to working with you to make this an outstanding event and a key part of your near- and long-term business development.
See you in Miami!
John Henderson, Exhibits & Sponsorship Co-Chair
Peter Passarelli, Exhibits & Sponsorship Co-Chair
For Questions or More Information Please Contact
Becky Slaybaugh, Executive Admin | BSlaybaugh@Minervatri.com
Elizabeth Peggs, Co-Secretary General | EPeggs@Minervatri.com
TEL: +1.561.768.9487
(-5 GMT)
Corporate members of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) have an exclusive 21-day window in which to file exhibit hall booth and conference sponsorship requests for GeoAmericas 2016. The quadrennial event, which is the 3rd Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics, will be held 10 – 13 April 2016 in Miami. The deadline for IGS Corporate Members to make their pre-sale selections is May 14.
DOWNLOAD EXHIBIT / SPONSORSHIP BROCHURE (PDF)After the deadline passes, sales for booths and sponsorships will be extended to the full geotechnical community.
IGS Corporate Members are strongly encouraged to make sure their teams have the exhibitor and sponsorship brochure. The offer has been issued to all IGS Corporate Members, but the main contact for the IGS might not be the office responsible for booking space at an event in the Americas.
Download the brochure with the link above and share with your team.
UNIQUE SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM
The sustainability mission of GeoAmericas 2016 has received great support already, with a number of companies contributing ideas based on their event experience for how to improve the conference experience and sustainability performance.
Electronic sharing of information will be emphasized, with tools such as an event web app to aid in connecting attendees and companies and giving exhibitors a convenient way to share information without attendees needing to lug 25 lbs of paper home with them.
The lanyards for the event—a sponsored item—will not be the traditional corporate branded item. Rather, GeoAmericas 2016 will put lanyard sponsorship on the badges and instead of a traditional lanyard will use the sponsorship money to acquire handmade necklaces from a small business in Haiti. These necklaces will subsequently be able to be reused or gifted by attendees.
Haiti is integrally tied to the event. A school and orphanage construction project is being partially funded directly by the three tiers of major sponsorships (Silver, Gold, and Platinum). Geosynthetics are being used in the work in Charlier, Haiti, and sponsor companies will be invited to join the crew on site as well as have promotional access to the video of the work that will be shot.
Additional exhibit and sponsorship notes that will interest participating companies:
Download the exhibitor and sponsorship pre-sale brochure to find out the full range of advertising, exhibit booth, and sponsorship opportunities.
NOTE: Non-IGS Corporate Members should view this brochure too. You might still file your requests (or join IGS immediately and secure benefits such as 20% break on booth costs). By the IGS bylaws, preference is given in this exclusive sale window to IGS Corporate Members; but as of May 15, it will be open. The Pre-Sale brochure include a box to check for not being a corporate member.
BECOME A CORPORATE MEMBER OF THE IGS TODAYGREAT RESPONSE TO DATE
Significant interest in booth and sponsorship selection was reported by the conference organizers in the week leading up to the release of the pre-sale brochure.
Also, the abstracts submission period closed April 10 with hundreds of submissions and contributions from more than 40 countries.
A date to mark on the calendar is May 15. General attendee registration and non-IGS member booth and sponsorship purchases will be available from then on.
Daniel Jones, Department of Civil Engineering, Queen’s University
The GeoAmericas invite will include a free full registration to the event plus a USD $1000 stipend towards travel expenses.
The paper was titled “Hydration of Geosynthetic Clay Liners in Antarctica.” Jones co-authored the work with Dr. R. Kerry Rowe (Department of Civil Engineering, Queen’s University) and Dr. Rebecca McWatters (Australian Antarctic Division, Department of the Environment, Austrlian Government), the latter of whom was honored with a NAGS Student Paper Award in 2009.
Jones presented the paper in Portland, in line with the rules of the NAGS Student Paper competition.
Selection of the winning paper is based on both the written paper and its oral presentation at a conference chosen by NAGS.
NAGS is not the only International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) chapter conducting a student paper competition. Each IGS chapter in the Americas is holding one, and the winner of each chapter competition will be invited to present at GeoAmericas 2016. They too will be offered a free full registration to GeoAmericas and USD $1000 travel stipend.
GeoAmericas 2016 (www.GeoAmericas2016.org) is being hosted by the North American Geosynthetics Society. This marks the first time the Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics will be held in the United States.
GeoAmericas 2016 — the 3rd Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics — continues the GeoAmericas tradition of excellence established in Cancún (2008) and Lima (2012). The North American Geosynthetics Society, which is organizing the event, has opened the abstracts submission window.
DOWNLOAD CALL FOR ABSTRACTS (PDF)Abstracts will be due 10 April 2015. Submit abstracts online at www.GeoAmericas2016.org.
SUBMIT ABSTRACTSAbstracts in English of up to 400 words are invited on all applications utilizing geosynthetics. Topics include, but are not limited to:
SPECIAL SESSION TOPICS
GeoAmericas 2016 will host some special sessions, as requested by the engineering community during the previous Call for Proposals. Abstracts are welcomed for special sessions consideration. They include:
LEARNING FROM EVERY REGION AND NATION
GeoAmericas 2016 does not have an overall theme; rather, the organizers seek to bridge nations and regions through their diverse engineering challenges and how engineers in one part of the Americas may learn from engineers in another. From Northern Canada to Cape Horn, a tremendous range of climates and infrastructure needs are found.
At GeoAmericas, the best of the geosynthetic solutions to these challenges will be represented.
IMPORTANT DATE FOR AUTHORS
6 January 2015: Call for abstracts opens
10 April 2015: Call for abstracts closes
15 April 2015: Authors notified
1 August 2015: First draft of papers due
15 September 2015: Reviews complete
30 November 2015: Final papers due
15 January 2016: Presenting authors must be registered
ABOUT GEOAMERICAS 2016
GeoAmericas 2016 (www.GeoAmericas2016.org) will provide an international forum for engineers, practitioners, and academe from throughout the Americas to explore current and future potential applications for geosynthetics. It offers an active marketplace for the promotion of geosynthetic products and technologies, and its keynote lectures, panel discussions, short courses, and technical sessions will offer exceptional knowledge transfer and networking opportunities.
The North American Geosynthetics Society (www.igs-na.org), which is the host chapter for GeoAmericas 2016, is a chapter of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS).
Venue and Accommodation
Loews Miami Beach Hotel
1601 Collins Ave.
Miami Beach, FL 33139, USA
The hotel is located in Miami’s famous South Beach. A pedestrian area with phenomenal restaurants both on site and in immediate walking distance. If you would like to be entertained at one of South Beach’s many world renowned elegant restaurants or if you are ready to simply relax and enjoy vibrant night life. If you are interested in hosting additional corporate meetings or activities during or around GeoAmericas 2016 please contact Elizabeth Peggs (epeggs@minervatri.com) for assistance in coordination.
LEARN MORE ABOUT GEOAMERICAS 2016
GeoAmericas2016.orgSign up for the newsletter on the GeoAmericas 2016 website: www.GeoAmericas2016.org.
GeoAmercicas® 2016 is Hosted by NAGS (North American Geosynthetics Society), Managed by Minerva-Technology, Resources & Information and held under the Auspices of the IGS (International Geosynthetics Society).
GeoAmericas 2016 — the 3rd Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics — , hosted by NAGS, will be held at the Lowes Hotel on South Beach in Miami, Florida 10 – 13 April 2016. The event will continue the quadrennial GeoAmericas tradition of excellence, providing a forum for engineers, practitioners and academe from the Americas to explore current and future potential applications for geosynthetics. The Call for Proposals for short courses, training lectures, and technical sessions has been issued.
DOWNLOAD THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS (PDF)
Proposals for short courses, training lectures, and technical sessions will be due 15 November 2014. Sign up for the newsletter on the GeoAmericas website: www.GeoAmericas2016.org.
Note: The Call for Abstracts—for individual papers—will be issued in January 2015.
More about GeoAmericas 2016
GeoAmericas 2016 is developing a program to advance the knowledge and understanding of geosynthetics at every level, from novice to expert. All will be provided with an opportunity to gain and share knowledge.
Considering the diverse range of interests and applications, the conference has chosen not to isolate a theme; rather, the event will facilitate learning and dialogue on the key issues faced by geosynthetic communities throughout the Pan-American region.
Key application sectors will include, but are not limited to, transportation, mining, infrastructure, waste, and water. Other relevant discussions may focus on improving the quality and durability of works through the application of geosynthetics.
As with previous GeoAmericas conferences, the technical calls have been divided, with the Call for Proposals preceding the Call for Abstracts. This division will help the individual paper authors more accurately slot their submissions into the larger technical program.
GeoAmericas Important Dates
Venue and Accommodation
Loews Miami Beach Hotel
1601 Collins Ave.
Miami Beach, FL 33139, USA
The hotel is located in Miami’s famous South Beach. A pedestrian area with phenomenal restaurants both on site and in immediate walking distance. If you would like to be entertained at one of South Beach’s many world renowned elegant restaurants or if you are ready to simply relax and enjoy vibrant night life. If you are interested in hosting additional corporate meetings or activities during or around GeoAmericas 2016 please contact Elizabeth Peggs (epeggs@minervatri.com) for assistance in coordination.
LEARN MORE ABOUT GEOAMERICAS 2016
www.GeoAmericas2016.org
GeoAmercicas® 2016 is Hosted by NAGS (North American Geosynthetics Society), Managed by Minerva-Technology, Resources & Information and held under the Auspices of the IGS (International Geosynthetics Society).
Online Abstracts are now being accepted for Geosynthetics 2015, a geosynthetics conference coming February 15–18 to Portland, Oregon in 2015.
Event: Geosynthetics 2015
Date: February 15–18
Location: Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon
GEOSYNTHETICS: ADVANCES AND INNOVATION
The theme of Geosynthetics 2015 is Advances and Innovation. The conference will feature four days of technical programming, including short courses, panel discussions and papers. For the first time ever, Geosynthetics will be co-locating with International Erosion Control Agency’s Environmental Connections 2015 conference. The conferences will feature a shared exhibit floor while maintaining separate technical programs.
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
This Call for Abstracts is issued to create a comprehensive, varied, and exciting Technical Paper Program. Submit your 200-300 word abstract by April 15 and become part of Geosynthetics 2015. Abstracts are being accepted on any topic relevant to the event. Please click here for the current list of proposed sessions and general topics.
All submissions will be peer reviewed at each step including the abstract, first draft and final paper submissions. At least one author from each accepted final paper must register and present the paper during the conference.
Abstract Submission Timeline
Abstracts due: April 15, 2014
Acceptance notification: May 15, 2014
We look forward to receiving your proposal.
Technical Program Co-Chairs:
James McKelvey III, P.E.
Earth Engineering Inc.
JayM@EarthEngineering.com
John McCartney Ph.D., P.E.
University of Colorado at Boulder
john.mccartney@colorado.edu
Secretary General: Barbara Connett
Geosynthetics 2015
651 225 6914 * 800 486 3980
bjconnett@ifai.com
Geosynthetics 2015 is organized by the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) and the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA), and supported by the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS).
Click For More Conference Details
Online proposals are now being accepted for Geosynthetics 2015, a geosynthetics conference coming February 15–18 to Portland, Oregon in 2015.
Event: Geosynthetics 2015
Date: February 15–18
Location: Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon
CALL FOR SESSION PROPOSALS
The Call for Session Proposals is your opportunity to be a Session Chair for the topic of your choice during Geosynthetics 2015.
Session formats include technical paper sessions, invited paper sessions and panel discussions. All technical paper sessions will be 90 minutes in length. Multiple sessions with a related theme are possible. Submission should include a description of the proposed topic, and any plans outside of the call for abstracts for soliciting papers.
All abstracts and papers (including invited papers) are subject to the official Geosynthetics 2015 review process.
Submit your Session Proposal online by Jan 31, 2013 and become a part of Geosynthetics 2015.
Session Proposal Submission Timeline
Proposals due: January 31, 2014
Acceptance notification: February 15, 2014
CALL FOR SHORT COURSES PROPOSALS
Geosynthetics 2015 is committed to providing continuing education opportunities for participants. Short Courses can be a half day to a full day long and will be held prior to Geosynthetics 2015.
Proposals should include the course title, a description of the course with a summary of its learning objectives and a list of instructors.
Submit Short Course Proposals online by Feb. 28, 2014.
Short Course Proposal Submission Timeline
Proposals due: February 28, 2014
Acceptance notification: March 31, 2014
CALL FOR PRACTICAL LEARNING WORKSHOP PROPOSALS
One of the goals of Geosynthetics 2015 is to reach out to industry landscape architects, engineers, installers, specifiers and others that are not familiar with the use of Geosynthetics. To that end we will be offering special sessions focusing on the “basics” of geosynthetics and practical “how -to” techniques that include planning, design, and /or construction. These sessions will be held during the conference and should be 2 – 4 hours in length. Where appropriate these workshops may be repeated during the program.
Proposals should include the workshop title, a description of the course with a summary of its learning objectives and a list of instructors.
Submit Practical Learning Workshop Proposals online by Feb. 28, 2014.
Practical Learning Workshop Proposal Submission Timeline
Proposals due: February 28, 2014
Acceptance notification: March 31, 2014
We look forward to receiving your proposal.
Technical Program Co-Chairs:
James McKelvey III, P.E.
Earth Engineering Inc.
JayM@EarthEngineering.com
John McCartney Ph.D., P.E.
University of Colorado at Boulder
john.mccartney@colorado.edu
Secretary General: Barbara Connett
Geosynthetics 2015
651 225 6914 * 800 486 3980
bjconnett@ifai.com
Geosynthetics 2015 is organized by the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) and the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA), and supported by the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS).
Click For More Conference DetailsWe are the North American Chapter of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS), serving and representing infrastructure and sustainability professionals in Canada and the United States.
