Topic:

Designing for Long-term Performance of Geosynthetics

Course Overview:

Understanding the durability of geosynthetics is essential in modern civil and geotechnical engineering, where long-term performance directly impacts infrastructure reliability, safety, and lifecycle cost.

In this webinar, Bowei Yu will explore the key factors that govern service life, including how polymer type influences degradation mechanisms and material behaviour over time. The discussion will also examine the role of weathering resistance in determining the longevity of geosynthetics in exposed applications.

The impact of chemical environments on long-term performance will also be addressed, particularly in demanding applications such as waste containment and mining. This is followed by a focus on sustained mechanical performance in materials such as geomembranes and reinforced geogrids, where maintaining strength and functionality over the design life is critical to system performance and stability.

Together, these factors provide a clearer understanding of how geosynthetics perform under real-world conditions and how multiple degradation mechanisms interact over time.

Speaker:

Dr Bowei Yu holds a PhD, BEng, and MEng in Geotechnical Engineering and is the Technical and R&D Lab Manager at Geofabrics. Since February 2022, he has also served as a NATA technical assessor specialising in soil and rock laboratory testing.

Bowei has a strong academic track record, with research covering various areas, including soil mechanics testing focused on unsaturated soil characteristics and environmental influences, as well as the mechanical and hydraulic performance of bentonite clay and related geosynthetic materials.

Since entering the industry, he has been recognised for his expertise in advanced soil and rock mechanics laboratory testing and analysis, unsaturated soil mechanics theory and testing technology, and the testing and design of geosynthetic materials used in geoenvironmental engineering.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand how multiple factors can influence the long-term performance and service life of geosynthetics
• Learn about the most commonly used polymers in geosynthetic materials and their primary degradation mechanisms
• Discover how resin quality and manufacturing processes can affect the longevity of geosynthetic products
• Explore commonly adopted testing methods, accelerated testing theories and analytical approaches used to assess product service life
• Gain insight into how the Geofabrics’ GRID (Geosynthetic, Research, Innovation & Development) team can provide data, testing insights and project experience to help evaluate product longevity under unique site conditions