ABSTRACT
In order to prevent groundwater contamination due to runway deicers, automatically working, maintenance-free purification networks have been created along the runways of the new Munich airport. The TDS – In Situ Decomposition System’ (ASG – Abbausystem im Gelände) ensures the natural bacteriological decomposition of deicers into water and carbon dioxide during seepage through this system which is sealed towards the groundwater. The sealing of the IDS/ASG is carried out using an impermeable needle-punched geosynthetic clay liner (GCL).
This paper reports on the installation of approx. 700,000 m2 of GCL, including the technique carried out with regard to overlaps and connections. Comparative tests performed in the lab and in the field have shown the effectiveness of the sealing bentonite layer. The detailed work – carefully carried out by the ‘Institut für Grundbau, Bodenmechanik und Felsmechanik der Technischen Universität München’ – which was absolutely necessary for meaningful field measurements, will be described with examples. The documentation of water level measurements in the operating decomposition system confirmed the effectiveness of the solution.
