Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 15

and maintain long-term dimensional and
slope stability.
To facilitate modular construction, folding of the panels is important
because large panels need many people
to unfold them across a site. Normally,
each person can pull out about 100
pounds (45 kg) of geomembrane, an
estimate that can be used to calculate
how many people are needed to pull out
a geomembrane panel. To reduce the
number of people and auxiliary forces,
the geomembrane panel can be rolled up
on a steel core or pipe. If the outer sides
of the sheets are folded to the center and
then the panel is rolled up on the steel
core, the laborers in the field only have
to pull out half of the panel weight when
they unroll the panel from the middle
of its final position instead of one edge.
This also accelerates deployment and
covering of the subgrade, geosynthetic
clay liner (GCL) or compacted soil liner
before adverse weather arrives.

field fabrication. In summary, modular
construction/factory fabrication results
in high-quality, sustainable, innovative,
efficient, cost-effective and faster geosynthetic installations (Figure 6).
References
Fraser, B., and Neal, M. (2021). " Geosynthetic portable
cofferdams for civil construction applications. " Proc.,
Geosynthetics 2021 Conference, Industrial Fabrics
Association International, Roseville, Minn.
Modular Building Institute. www.modular.org.

FIGURE 6 Aerial photo of containment
areas with irregular geometry

Stark, T. D., Hernandez, M. A., and Rohe, D. S. (2020).
" Geomembrane factory and field thermally welded
geomembrane seams comparison. " Geotextiles and
Geomembranes, 48(4) (August), 454-467, https://doi
.org/10.1016/j.geotexmem.2020.02.004. G

>> For more, search
" factory-fabricated geomembranes "
at www.GeosyntheticsMagazine.com.

	
	

Summary
To look at the origin of modular construction, you can go back to the 1670s;
however, the real boom in America
occurred after the Second World War
when it was utilized to provide fast, lowcost housing for workers and returning
servicemen. Since then, modular construction has been used primarily in residential housing and low-rise buildings.
In recent years, this concept makes more
and more sense as we see multiple ways
prefabricated panels can enhance quality
and reduce wasted resources. Modular
construction and factory fabrication of
geosynthetics also yields a smaller carbon footprint because electrical power
generated from renewable sources or
less carbon-intensive sources can be
used for 60%-100% of the geomembrane
and geotextile seaming instead of the
hydrocarbon energy sources used for
www.GeosyntheticsMagazine.com

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Geosynthetics April/May 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Geosynthetics April/May 2021

Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - Cover1
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - Cover2
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 1
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 2
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 3
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 4
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 5
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 6
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 7
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 8
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 9
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 10
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 11
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 12
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Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 14
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Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 17
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 18
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 19
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 20
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 21
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 22
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Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 24
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 25
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 26
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 27
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 28
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 29
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 30
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 31
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 32
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 33
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 34
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 35
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 36
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 37
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 38
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 39
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 40
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 41
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 42
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 43
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - 44
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - Cover3
Geosynthetics April/May 2021 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/ata/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-april-may-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/ata/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-february-march-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/ata/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-december-2023-january-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/ata/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-october-november-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/ata/geosynthetics/geoysynthetics-august-september-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/ata/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-june-july-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/ata/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-april-may-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/ata/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-february-march-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/ata/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-december-2022-january-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/ata/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-october-november-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-august-september-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-june-july-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-april-may-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-february-march-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-december-2021-january-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-october-november-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-august-september-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-june-july-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-april-may-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/geosynthetics-february-march-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/1220GS
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/1020GS
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/0820GS
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/0620GS
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/0420GS
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/0220GS
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/1219GS
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/1019GS
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/0819GS
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https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/0419GS
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/0219GS
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/1218GS
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/1018GS
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/0818GS
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/0618GS
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/0418GS
https://www.nxtbook.com/ifai/geosynthetics/0218GS
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