ABSTRACT
The growth of geosynthetic hydraulic product types, structures, and associated performance has been impressive. Geosynthetics routinely replace traditional materials such as soil and stone layers to provide for important engineering functions including drainage, filtration and erosion and sediment control, all while providing greener engineering options resulting in lower carbon footprints. The growth of product structures and performance behaviors has challenged the standardization community to keep pace with measurement technologies appropriate to capture both short and long term product performance. Along the way, many testing tools and measurement procedures have been developed, and many more are in development.This paper reviews many of the geosynthetic hydraulic structures and their specific applications. The important work ISO TC221 and ASTM International Committee D35 to standardize measurement technologies will be presented, including selected summary descriptions for:
ISO 18198, Determination of long-term flow of geosynthetic drains
ISO 12958-1, Determination of water flow capacity in their plane - Part 1: Index test
ISO 12958-2, Determination of water flow capacity in their plane - Part 2: Performance test
ASTM D4716, Standard Test Method for Determining the (In-plane) Flow Rate per Unit Width and Hydraulic Transmissivity of a Geosynthetic Using a Constant Head
ISO TC 18228-8, Design using geosynthetics - Part 8: Surface erosion control
ASTM D6459, Standard Test Method for Determination of Rolled Erosion Control Prod-uct (RECP) Performance in Protecting Hillslopes from Rainfall-Induced Erosion
ASTM D 6460. Standard Test Method for Determination of Rolled Erosion Control Product (RECP) Performance in Protecting Earthen Channels from Stormwater-Induced Erosion
Also discussed is the significance of test water management, the use of alternative permeants such as leachates and air, and the accelerated “aging” of drainage systems in an effort to predict long term performance.
