Publication

A comprehensive review on geomembrane systems application in hydropower

Abstract

Geomembrane systems have been used at hydropower plants as rehabilitation and mitigation technology for several decades and are now used worldwide. In the context of planning an energy transition that promotes the sustainable use of water resources for energy production, hydropower is poised to have a major role in the upcoming decades. Geomembrane systems contribute to the maintenance, rehabilitation, and expansion of hydropower plants. They act as an impervious layer to prevent and mitigate water leakage and damage to structures. They meet the needs of many challenges faced by aging structures by improving their performance and lifespan, enhancing their resilience, and sustainability. The first application of geomembrane systems was in hydraulic canals and reservoirs and was later extended to dams and hydraulic tunnels. More recently, geomembrane systems have been applied to pressure waterways and surge shafts. This review presents a detailed overview of geomembrane systems used in hydropower and contributes to the development and share of knowledge related to their use as rehabilitation and mitigation technology. The fundamental concepts of the materials, historical development, durability, loads applied, state-of-the-art design and failure potential of geomembrane systems are presented. Subsequently, this review provides an in-depth description of exposed geomembrane systems and their application in pressure waterways as this is the most recent application type and is a field with many potential future applications. The main challenges and opportunities are emphasized, and the main research gaps are highlighted.

About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Related concepts (34)
Geosynthetics
Geosynthetics are synthetic products used to stabilize terrain. They are generally polymeric products used to solve civil engineering problems. This includes eight main product categories: geotextiles, geogrids, geonets, geomembranes, geosynthetic clay liners, geofoam, geocells and geocomposites. The polymeric nature of the products makes them suitable for use in the ground where high levels of durability are required. They can also be used in exposed applications. Geosynthetics are available in a wide range of forms and materials.
Geomembrane
A geomembrane is very low permeability synthetic membrane liner or barrier used with any geotechnical engineering related material so as to control fluid (liquid or gas) migration in a human-made project, structure, or system. Geomembranes are made from relatively thin continuous polymeric sheets, but they can also be made from the impregnation of geotextiles with asphalt, elastomer or polymer sprays, or as multilayered bitumen geocomposites. Continuous polymer sheet geomembranes are, by far, the most common.
Cellular confinement
Cellular confinement systems (CCS)—also known as geocells—are widely used in construction for erosion control, soil stabilization on flat ground and steep slopes, channel protection, and structural reinforcement for load support and earth retention. Typical cellular confinement systems are geosynthetics made with ultrasonically welded high-density polyethylene (HDPE) strips or novel polymeric alloy (NPA)—and expanded on-site to form a honeycomb-like structure—and filled with sand, soil, rock, gravel or concrete.
Show more
Related publications (32)

A Theory of Value for Service Ecosystems

Blagovesta Hristova Kostova

In this thesis, we present a theory of value for the design and analysis of service ecosystems. The theory is based on general systems thinking. The concept of a system is used for relating knowledge from different disciplines (such as software engineering ...
EPFL2022

Horizontal Healing

Anja Fröhlich

A Concideration of Typologies for Housing the Sick as a Spatial Manifestation of knowledge. ...
EPFL Press2022

On the Maximum Power Density of Implanted Antennas within Simplified Body Phantoms

Anja Skrivervik, Zvonimir Sipus, Mingxiang Gao

With the application requirements of wireless technology in implantable bioelectronics, knowledge of the fundamental limits for implanted antennas becomes critical. In this work, we investigated the variation of maximum power density within simplified body ...
IEEE2022
Show more
Related MOOCs (1)
SES Swiss-Energyscope
La transition énergique suisse / Energiewende in der Schweiz