Presentations on the environmental advantages of using geosynthetics in transport projects were shared at a Portugal conference.

The joint event by the IGS Technical Committee on Stabilization (TC-S) and International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE), was part of the 18th European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering in Lisbon, over August 26-30.

The TC-S one-day workshop, in collaboration with the ISSMGE's Technical Committees on Transportation Geotechnics (TC202) and Sustainability in Geotechnical Engineering (TC307), was titled 'Sustainable Geotechnics for Transport Infrastructure', and featured a range of notable speakers.

The IGS TC-S gave three presentations – Jorge Zornberg on 'Geosynthetics and Sustainability', Xuecheng Bian of Zhejiang University, China, exploring 'Geotechnical performance of ballastless high-speed railways', and TC-S chair Erol Tutumluer on 'Road foundation stabilization with geosynthetics'.

The workshop covered a broad range of topics, addressing fundamental issues such as sustainable materials and construction processes for transportation infrastructure, as well as geotechnical challenges and innovations aimed at enhancing resilience and adaptability of transport assets, infrastructure, routes, networks, and systems.

Dr. Tutumluer said: "The workshop was highly successful, drawing strong participation from geotechnical engineers, researchers, and practitioners all around the world. Attendees engaged in lively discussions following each session, reflecting their enthusiasm and interest in advancing sustainable solutions within the geotechnical field."

The final IGS TC-S workshop for 2024 takes place as a pre-conference event to the 5th International Conference on Transportation Geotechnics on November 19. Find out more here.

For more about the TC-S, visit this link. Information about the IGS's other Technical Committees can be found here.