Geotechnical Aspects of Landfill Design and Construction

Focuses on actual, state-of-the-art design/construction procedures as opposed to a discussion of solid waste management issues and to general descriptions and/or conceptual designs. Provides an integrated package of analytical tools, design equations, and step-by-step construction procedures for all elements of a landfill, giving the reader a better sense of the necessary site investigation, planning, analysis, and organization that go into a landfill design and construction project. KEY TOPICS: The characteristics of landfill containment envelopes and their design/construction are treated in detail. Physico-chemical and engineering properties of solid waste that are relevant and important to landfill design and construction are tabulated and described. Includes explanation of how to evaluate and assess potential problems that affect landfill performance such as sideslope stability, settlement, containment effectiveness, and erosion control. Discusses vertical landfill expansion; how leachate moves across a liner or barrier under both advection and diffusion; compares the containment effectiveness of different liner systems to the combined advective-diffusive transport of dissolved leachate solutes. Includes a detailed explanation with numerical examples and calculations of how to design a gas collection and piping system in a landfill―including the collection and handling of condensate in the gas. Detailed installation and inspection guidelines are provided for both earthen and geosynthetic liner/cover systems―comparing the relative advantages and limitations of each. MARKET: For professional training courses in Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering.

Xuede Qian is currently a statewide Geotechnical Engineering Specialist with the Waste Management Division, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. He received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in hydraulic and geotechnical engineering from Hohai University Nanjing, China, and the Ph.D. degree in geotechnical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is also an adjunct faculty member with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, with responsibility for teaching a senior/graduate level course on landfill design and construction. He has been actively involved in landfill engineering research and has participated in many landfill design, construction, and remediation projects during the past decade. Dr. Qian has authored numerous technical papers in the geotechnical and geoenvironmental fields. His professional experiences include work for universities, regulatory agencies, and consulting firms.

Robert M. Koerner is currently an H. L. Bowman Professor of Civil Engineering with Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA. He received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in civil engineering from Drexel University and the Ph.D. degree in geotechnical engineering from Duke University. He is an Honorary Member of the ASCE and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Koerner is the co-author of the first book on geotextiles and has authored or coauthored more than 300 papers on geosynthetics in major engineering journals and for national and international conference proceedings. His latest effort is the fourth edition of the textbook entitled Designing with Geosynthetics. As Director of the Geosynthetic Research Institute, his activities involve all aspects of waste disposal, but focus particularly on the liner and cover containment systems.

Donald H. Gray is a Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering with the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He received the B.S. and M.S. degrees and the Ph.D. degree in geological and civil engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. His areas of expertise include slope stability and erosion control, engineering properties of solid waste materials, the transport of leachate through landfill liners (under combined advection/diffusion), and containment strategies for landfilled wastes. He has authored numerous technical papers and lectured extensively at training workshops and short courses dealing with geotechnical aspects of waste disposal in the ground. He has served as the organizer and chairman of two ASCE specialty conferences on geotechnical engineering of land disposal. Dr. Gray is also the principal author of two well-regarded reference books on biotechnical and soil bioengineering slope stabilization.