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ISO9001 and UKAS certification
All geotextiles are manufactured in an ISO 9001 environment and quality assured to relevant BS EN ISO standards. The Company's laboratories are UKAS accredited (UKAS is the premier laboratory accreditation service in the UK and requires extremely high standards for test accuracy and repeatability). The laboratories also provide assistance to engineers wishing to identify the geosynthetic best suited to a project and can undertake performance tests (such as the cylinder test) tailor-made to the customers requirements.
CE Marking
CE marking (part of the Construction Products Directive - 89/106/EEC) is intended to remove technical barriers to trade within European states. Standardisation of testing methods and procedures has been driven by the need to simplify specifications and, in turn, designing with Eurocodes.
The CE mark will provide a guarantee that, for a particular application, the properties for a product match those published by its manufacturer. This should not be confused with ISO 9001 certification, which applies to a management quality system.
All manufacturers of building and construction products in the designated European states are required to comply with the CE marking requirements. This became mandatory for geotextiles as of October 2002 and product packaging should reflect this.
Not all of the 84 potential tests for geosynthetics apply to every product. The ultimate application dictates which tests are appropriate. The CEN TC189 committee, comprising representatives from across the industry, including consultants, manufacturers, testing laboratories and universities, was responsible for establishing this criteria.
The DTLR are the awarding authority in the UK and, following a factory inspection by independent auditors to verify procedures, together with further inspections of records and equipment calibration, GEOfabrics Limited has obtained CE marking for the majority of their HP and MP geotextiles.
Performance testing
The laboratory has pioneered a number of methods for simulating on-site conditions in order to evaluate the properties of different geosynthetics e.g. inclined table and trackbed.
The cylinder test (EN ISO 13719) - the laboratory has adapted and developed this test which simulates closely the long-term loading conditions on geosynthetics at the base of a landfill. This test uses the actual stone, liner and geotextile proposed for the site.
In-plane flow capacity test (EN ISO 12858) - the standard test is adapted to measure the flow rate along a geosynthetic or geocomposite using the actual soils and design loadings proposed on site.
Leachate immersion tests - samples of geosynthetics are immersed in a leachate, taken from a specific site, which is heated to simulate landfill conditions. The samples are removed at regular intervals to check for changes in properties.
One test has been running continuously for 8 years.
Permeability under strain - samples are strained to failure, in stages, and tested for permeability at the end of each stage. This is particularly applicable to coastal applications to assess filtration/separation characteristics under sustained load.
Quality Control Production Testing
The required internal quality control procedures are as follows:
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A. Testing required for production runs of our HP and MP ranges in excess of 6,000 m2.
| Every 6,000 m2 | UKAS Accredited |
| CBR Puncture resistance |
BS EN ISO 12236 |
1 set |
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| Thickness @2kPA |
BS EN 964-1 |
1 set |
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| Wide width tensile strength |
BS EN ISO 10319 Machine Direction |
1 set |
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| Cone drop perforation |
BS EN 918 |
1 set |
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| Mass per unit area (MP only) |
BS EN 965 |
1 set |
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| Every 12,000 m2 |
| Wide width tensile strength |
BS EN ISO 10319 Cross Machine Direction |
1 set |
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| Water permeability (on request) |
BS6906 Part 2 |
1 set |
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B. Testing required for production runs of our HP and MP ranges less than 6,000 m2.
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UKAS Accredited |
| CBR Puncture resistance |
BS EN ISO 12236 |
1 set |
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| Thickness @2kPA |
BS EN 964-1 |
1 set |
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| Wide width tensile strength |
BS EN ISO 10319 Machine Direction |
1 set |
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| Wide width tensile strength |
BS EN ISO 10319 Cross Machine Direction |
1 set |
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| Cone drop perforation |
BS EN 918 |
1 set |
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| Mass per unit area (MP only) |
BS EN 965 |
1 set |
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Additional index testing
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| Apparent opening size (dry) |
BS 6906 Part 2 |
| Apparent opening size (wet) |
EN ISO 12956 |
| Transmissivity under pressure |
EN ISO 12958 |
| Austrian pyramid puncture test |
ONORM S 2076 (UKAS acc.) |
| Single fibre test |
BS 3411 - 1971 |
| Compression and recovery test |
BS 4098 |
| Chemical immersion test |
EPA 9090 and ASTM 5322-92 |
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All of the QC tests can be carried out for other major geotextile testing standards such as the American ASTM including grab tensile, pin puncture, trapezoidal tear, water flow permittivity and permeability.
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