NEWS 2017: Jay’s Podcast

TRI Environmental’s Jay Sprague Featured on GeoTalk Podcast

GREENVILLE, South Carolina – Jay Sprague, Laboratory Director for TRI Environmental’s Denver Downs Research Facility (DDRF), has been featured in an interview on the GeoTalk Podcast, a weekly broadcast from the international engineering publication Geosynthetica. Sprague was interviewed by Geosynthetica Editor Chris Kelsey about the development of a new testing approach for erosion and sediment control material anchors.

The podcast can be streamed via iTunes of the Google Play store. It can also be heard above or at the following link:
http://www.geosynthetica.net/podcast-pullout-anchor-testing-erosion/

The erosion and sediment control anchoring investigation, which originated from a private client’s inquiry, has produced unique data that may help lead the entire field toward a new and beneficial standard.

“[The data] developed an elegant demonstration of anchor performance that had really not been put out to industry before,” Sprague says.

His research has previously received awards, such as best paper recognition from the International Erosion Control Association’s annual conference.

In the podcast, Sprague notes that the testing approach utilized a testing box and pulley-based system which enabled consistent, repeatable testing of different materials, soil types, and anchoring approaches. He sees benefits from the work that includes encouraging industry to innovate in an area that has largely been relegated to being a commodity area.

“It will allow engineers to more accurately specify an erosion control system,” he says, including for high erosion risk designs, such as installations on steep slopes and in high flow situations.

DDRF is the primary, outdoor research and testing facility for TRI Environmental. The Anderson, South Carolina site provides large-scale, standardized testing services, such as rain and stormwater-induced erosion testing on slopes, flume testing for channel integrity, sediment retention device performance testing, and more.