ABSTRACT
The authors of this paper have over five decades of combined knowledge on Geosynthetic Clay Liners (GCLs). This paper will cover both the engineering and performance capabilities of GCLs but also provide readers the dos and don’ts experienced by the authors over the course of their work exposure while working on GCLs on various projects worldwide since the early 90s. Kent von Maubeuge has been directly involved with GCLs since the early 90s when needlepunched GCLs were entering the market and has seen the growth of this geosynthetic material used on various applications while providing assistance on various research studies and testing done on GCLs over the course of the last three decades. Bruno Herlin has been directly involved with GCLs since 2000 with the direct responsibility of overseeing GCLs for his organization and has witnessed what, where, when, who, and why a GCL should be used and how they should be used but also the dos and don’ts of their installation techniques. The paper will also cover the myths of GCLs. Both authors have had a history of sharing information between themselves on GCLs over the last two decades and are now going to share this information for the next generation to have in their GCL ‘bag of tricks’ to avoid mistakes made in the past but to also feel confident that GCLs do indeed work and can performance effectively as a proven barrier.
