Geomembranes, the material of choice for waterproof coatings

It was my duty to write this series of five articles on the family of materials to which I gave my name nearly forty years ago, and I'd like to thank Jean-Louis Bordes for inviting me to do so. And, what's more, in Techniques de l'Ingénieur, whose prestige is well known.

• The art of building

  Building has always been an art. Building has gradually become a science, thanks to new materials and new dimensioning methods. In just a few decades, millimetre-thick synthetic membranes known as "geomembranes" have established themselves as the material of choice for watertight linings (known simply as "waterproofing") for canals, dams, reservoirs, waste storage facilities, mine impoundments, tunnels and other geotechnical structures.

• Time and space

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