Geosynthetic clay liner field performance

The “field performance ” of Geosynthetic Clay Liner (GCL) products is a topic that is general in scope yet one that deserves discussion in consideration of the scrutiny these materials have undergone over the last decade. When exploring GCL “performance”, one must first determine what issues are most relevant to the measurement of long term success, being aware that this may differ between applications. As GCLs are a combination of geosynthetics and natural materials, chemical as well as physical issues will be focused upon, hydraulic properties being a function of both. In very general terms, the overall performance of the GCL products themselves has been good. That is not to say there have not been application problems involving GCLs either directly or indirectly. However, the track record has been quite successful, resulting in few if any unresolved long-term problems – none to the author’s knowledge. This paper reviews four of the primary applications for GCLs. It discusses a number of problems encountered, and relates the information that is available from these past complications to the overall successful field performance found with GCLs