Prof Kerry Rowe

Barrington Batchelor Distinguished University Professor and
Canada Research Chair in Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
GeoEngineering Centre at Queens-RMC
Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

A distinguished professor at Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada and past president of the IGS, Rowe served for 25 years as editor of the journal Geotextiles and Geomembranes. He has published extensively, including two books and has 40 years of research into geosynthetics and barrier systems. He has consulted on over 180 containment projects including landfills and remediation projects from the Arctic to the Antarctic. A recipient of numerous awards, he has given the most prestigious lectures in the field including the Giroud, Rankine, Karl Terzaghi and Mercer Lectures. His contributions to environmental geotechnics have been recognized by the ISSMGE R. Kerry Rowe Lecture and his contributions to barrier system engineering by the IGS Kerry Rowe Lecture.

Part 1 will review latest published and unpublished developments related to calculating the leakage through a hole in a geomembrane covered by tailings, including considering the effect of drainage layers used to accelerate consolidation. It will consider holes arising from construction defects or punctures that occur upon filling the facility from protrusions in the foundation. It will also consider leakage through wrinkles and defective or failed seams. Part 2 will review the latest findings from research into the longevity of a geomembranes in a range of tailings solutions and discuss the factors that are important in selecting an appropriate geomembrane for tailings storage facilities.