Available geoelectrical leak location techniques on Geomembranes and related ASTM standard guides of practice

Arnaud Budka, André Rollin, Carl Charpentier, Thierry Jacquelin

Dans les comptes rendus d’articles de la conférence: GeoMontréal 2013: 66th Canadian Geotechnical Conference; 11th joint with IAH-CNC

Session: Geosynthetics - Landfills and Mining Operations

ABSTRACT: : Geosynthetics play an important role in the majority of containment structures, and their installation continues to grow in many applications: potable water reservoirs, solid waste management, mining and industrial projects, and contaminated soils and sediments management in particular. Due to both their inherent functionality and the possibility of major impacts on the health and safety of neighbouring populations following a leak or a failure, the performance of these types of installations is critical. Statistics about the subject are categorical: without effective control and rigorous CQA program before and during construction, the probability that an installation does not offer the level of performance required is very high (Forget B. & al., 2005). For example, an analysis presented at the SWANA conference in September 2012 concludes that a landfill expansion where a leak location survey is not performed has more than 22% chance of requiring corrective action as regulated by the State of New York (USA) but only 7.1 % chance when a geo-electrical leak location survey is performed (Beck A. & al., 2012). Indeed, there are many risks to the integrity of the geomembrane during construction: piercing, poor welding, tearing, cutting, damage caused by heavy machinery, faulty manufacturing, etc. Leak location techniques can ensure the integrity of an impermeable structure before it becomes operational and can also be used to validate the integrity of existing containment installations. In particular, geo-electrical leak location method is a proven way to assure the integrity of installed geomembranes, along the entire covered area. Even if a very small fraction of the installed geomembrane was tested for leaks in 2010 (GSI Annual Meeting, San Antonio, USA), the development of a more stringent legislation is needed and the development of international and ASTM standards and guidelines is quite recent and should lead to the development of the use of these techniques. This paper proposes an overview of the available technologies, their limitations and the associated international and ASTM standards and guidelines. To conclude, the new standard (ASTM D7852) relating to Practice for the Use of an Electrically Conductive Geotextile for Leak Location Surveys will be analysed. Keywords: leak location survey, geomembrane, standards, measurement, quality control INTRODUCTION For more than 20 years, geosynthetics have played a key role in the majority of industrial containment installations. Different types of containment works are used and designed for different, sometimes complimentary functions, such as: ¥ Ensuring the environmental protection of soils and groundwater by eliminating propagation of contaminates into the soil water table ¥ Efficient storage of economically liquids (mining concentrates, clean water, process liquids, etc.) ¥ Storage and reuse of industrial process solutions ¥ Control of biogas production and reducing greenhouse gas emissions Due to both their inherent functionality and the possibility of major impacts on the health and safety of neighbouring populations following a leak or a failure, the performance of these types of installations is critical. The integrity of the whole containment has to be considered during each phase of a project:

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