Reference number : GC-2017-Q1-01917, amendment number : , agreement type : G, recipient legal name : Rowe, RKerry (Queen’s University), recipient country : CA, recipient province : nan, recipient city : Ontario, recipient postal code : nan, program name english : Discovery Grants Program - Individual, program name french : Programme de subventions à la découverte - individuelles, program purpose english : Geosynthetic barrier systems are used in most landfills (taking 68% of Canadian solid waste), contaminated fluid lagoons, and many mining applications (eg. heap leach pads, tailings storage facilities; using 280,000,000 m 2 /yr of geomembrane) where loss of contaminated fluid to surface or ground water must be minimized. Historically, this system has often involved a single composite liner with welded panels of a 1.5mm thick (plastic) geomembrane liner over a 1 cm thick geosynthetic clay liner (to reduce leakage through holes in the geomembrane) and past research has focused on this case. It is now known that a single liner is only suitable for low risk projects and a double system with a geocomposite drain between two composite liners is routinely being used for large landfills or other higher risk applications. These systems are typically expected to limit contaminant escape (ie. have a service-life of) from many decades in some resource recovery applications, to centuries for large landfills, to millennia for some mine waste. At present, virtually nothing is known about the effect of chemical interaction or applied loads on leakage through composite liners or the service-life of double composite liner systems . This research represents a completely new area of investigation and will be the first to ever examine these issues . The research capitalizes on recent research breakthroughs and adopts a new research strategy for considering the interactions between all components of a double composite liner barrier system including the effects of aging on flow in a secondary drainage layer (geocomposite drain) . It is unique, novel &amp; innovative in terms of the new techniques &amp; equipment being developed to examine the time-dependent change in the performance of these critical systems which cannot be repaired or replaced if they fail . This work is expected to result in a paradigm shift in the design and construction of critical bottom liners that will likely result in complete change in the geomembranes and drainage layers typically used . It will have a profound impact on human health and the environment by providing: (i) new fundamental scientific insights into the processes controlling long-term performance of single and double composite liner systems; (ii) science-based estimates of service-life ; (iii) new guidelines for the design of barrier systems for landfills and mining applications, &amp; (iv) a scientific basis for 21st Century regulations to provide environmental protection . The research will benefit Canadian design consultants, regulators, manufacturers, geosynthetics installers, facility owners/operators, First Nations, and the general public who will all be able to place greater reliance on these barrier systems and enhance Canada's international competitiveness and reputation for environmentally sustainable development. The research will educate 8 PhD, 2 MASc &amp; 5 undergraduate students., program purpose french : Geosynthetic barrier systems are used in most landfills (taking 68% of Canadian solid waste), contaminated fluid lagoons, and many mining applications (eg. heap leach pads, tailings storage facilities; using 280,000,000 m 2 /yr of geomembrane) where loss of contaminated fluid to surface or ground water must be minimized. Historically, this system has often involved a single composite liner with welded panels of a 1.5mm thick (plastic) geomembrane liner over a 1 cm thick geosynthetic clay liner (to reduce leakage through holes in the geomembrane) and past research has focused on this case. It is now known that a single liner is only suitable for low risk projects and a double system with a geocomposite drain between two composite liners is routinely being used for large landfills or other higher risk applications. These systems are typically expected to limit contaminant escape (ie. have a service-life of) from many decades in some resource recovery applications, to centuries for large landfills, to millennia for some mine waste. At present, virtually nothing is known about the effect of chemical interaction or applied loads on leakage through composite liners or the service-life of double composite liner systems . This research represents a completely new area of investigation and will be the first to ever examine these issues . The research capitalizes on recent research breakthroughs and adopts a new research strategy for considering the interactions between all components of a double composite liner barrier system including the effects of aging on flow in a secondary drainage layer (geocomposite drain) . It is unique, novel &amp; innovative in terms of the new techniques &amp; equipment being developed to examine the time-dependent change in the performance of these critical systems which cannot be repaired or replaced if they fail . This work is expected to result in a paradigm shift in the design and construction of critical bottom liners that will likely result in complete change in the geomembranes and drainage layers typically used . It will have a profound impact on human health and the environment by providing: (i) new fundamental scientific insights into the processes controlling long-term performance of single and double composite liner systems; (ii) science-based estimates of service-life ; (iii) new guidelines for the design of barrier systems for landfills and mining applications, &amp; (iv) a scientific basis for 21st Century regulations to provide environmental protection . The research will benefit Canadian design consultants, regulators, manufacturers, geosynthetics installers, facility owners/operators, First Nations, and the general public who will all be able to place greater reliance on these barrier systems and enhance Canada's international competitiveness and reputation for environmentally sustainable development. The research will educate 8 PhD, 2 MASc &amp; 5 undergraduate students., agreement title english : Long-term performance of geosynthetic barrier systems for groundwater protection, agreement title french : Long-term performance of geosynthetic barrier systems for groundwater protection, agreement number : RGPIN, agreement value : 355000.0, agreement start date : 2017-05-10, agreement end date : nan, description english : nan, description french : nan, expected results english : nan, expected results french : nan, additional information english : Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year. (2017-2018 to 2022-2023), additional information french : Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier. (2017-2018 à 2022-2023), owner organization : nserc-crsng, owner organization title : Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada | Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada