Takeshi Katsumi*, Craig H. Benson**, Gary J. Foose*** and Masashi Kamon****

* D. Eng., Research Associate, Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University
** Ph. D., Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin
*** Ph. D., Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Florida State University-Florida A&M University
**** D. Eng., Professor, Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University

+ Correspondence should be addressed to Takeshi Katsumi:
(Gokasho, Uji-city 611-0011 Japan)

Abstract

Composite liners which consist of a geomembrane and a clay layer are commonly used to contain wastes in landfills. However, a method to evaluate their effectiveness has not yet been well established. In this article, a method is presented to evaluate the effectiveness of composite liners, as well as geomembrane liners and clay liners a review of literature shows the performance of geomembrane liners, clay liners, and composite liners. The principles of performance-based design for landfill liners are also presented. A simplified design method shows that the Japanese regulatory standard for bottom liners yields significantly different performance from liners used in the US and European countries.

Key words: liner system, geomembrane, clay liner, chemical transport, performance-based design