Services
Eric Blond Consultant offers technical services to the geosynthetics and polymeric construction material industries.
Services offered
Industries served
-
Geosynthetics used in waste management and mining applications for sealing, protection, drainage
-
Geosynthetics used in civil engineering: structural components, base stabilization, filtration and drainage, paving fabrics...
-
Water management in agriculture: canal lining, drainage
-
Soil improvement: prefabricated vertical drains, work platforms...
-
Drainage and dampproofing of buildings - below grade.
-
Roofing and waterproofing (below grade) of buildings.
-
Air and vapor barriers - above grade.
-
Architectural textiles, tensile structures.
Engineering, Technical Assistance
Engineering with geosynthetics or polymeric construction materials is about selecting the right product to perform a predetermined function, and ensuring adequate interaction with the surrounding materials or environment throughout the design life of the structure. Adequate design is therefore articulated around five key aspects:
-
Identification of the requested function and selection of the type of product accordingly, e.g. geotextile, geomembrane, geocell, geogrid, drainage composite, or a combination of.
-
Selection of the product considering performance requirements, e.g. mechanical properties of geogrids, water flow capacity of drainage composites, filtration properties of geotextile filters, water- or gas-tightness of geomembranes or GCLs, hollow core thickness of dampproofing membranes, etc. This selection must take into account the service conditions, including service life as polymeric materials are sensitive to creep and stress relaxation.
-
Verification of the interaction of the product with its environment (e.g. gravel puncture, interface shear properties, filtration performance, crack-bridging ability…).
-
Survivability, i.e. resistance to storage, handling, and installation.
-
Assessment of the durability of the product in the particular service environment (e.g. chemical compatibility, oxidation or UV resistance, hydrolysis…).
Eric Blond can provide support with the development of new products or solutions involving polymeric construction materials, considering all these aspects.
Expertise, Forensic Investigations
Geosynthetic materials are sensitive to installation and site preparation. They can improve performance while reducing the cost of a project, but they are by no means magic. They require appropriate design and workmanship to perform as intended. Should a problem be identified, we can help identify the root causes which led to the observation of a reduced performance (or a failure) in a structure designed with geosynthetic materials, and provide recommendations for corrective actions when applicable.
Expert Witness
Eric Blond has contributed to the resolution of conflicts involving geosynthetics or other polymeric construction materials.
He has worked on behalf of installers, engineers, manufacturers as well as owners. His approach is based on a review of the design, product specification, quality assurance reports and supply documentation, complemented by a site visit. His report typically includes a description of the facts, background information, proposition of failure mechanism, and an abundant photographic documentation. In some cases, laboratory tests are performed to replicate the issues observed on-site and demonstrate the theory proposed by Eric Blond.
Most notable projects were:
-
Cracking of an exposed HDPE geomembrane (Scorpion versus Bird Construction, 500,000 m² double-lined lining system, Alberta, Canada)
-
Cracking of an exposed HDPE geomembrane (undisclosed parties, >500,000 m², Canada)
-
Cracking of a covered HDPE geomembrane (undisclosed parties, >100,000 m², Canada)
Product Certification, Code Compliance
Market access is becoming more and more complex, because of the variety of certification and evaluation programs (check here for a partial list). We provide guidance to get you through the process of bringing your product to the market.
Market Intelligence
After more than 20 years in the industry, in leadership positions, Eric Blond has developed an excellent understanding of the ‘Geosynthetic World’ and who's who. Eric can help identify trends on the market, as well as partnerships likely to be successful.
Training, Seminars, Courses and Technical Papers
Eric Blond is a lecturer at Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, where he introduces geosynthetics to undergraduates students (under the leadership of Prof. Jean-Philippe Charron), as well as teaches geological confinement of wastes with geosynthetics to graduate and undergraduate students (under the leadership of Prof. Robert Chaput). He has also collaborated with École de Technologie Supérieure on the use of geosynthetics in roadways under the leadership of Prof Alan Carter).
Eric has also contributed to numerous pre-conference short courses on different topics such as the Design of drainage geocomposites, quality control and quality assurance for geosynthetics, test methods published by ASTM D35.02...
He has also offered several custom trainings to engineering firms, focusing mostly on the design of lining systems and quality control / quality assurance.