Carbon Footprint Calculator

The Carbon Footprint Calculator is a calculator/spreadsheet used to estimate the carbon footprint for a containment system and can be used for the following applications: environmental, mining, potable water, energy development, waste containment, and other infrastructure applications.. The calculator is based on the analyses presented in Athanassopoulos and Vamos (2011) and yields estimates of the carbon footprint (or equivalent greenhouse gas emissions, in kg of CO2 equivalents per hectare) for a 0.6 m thick compacted soil liner (CSL), GM, and GCL. If a single composite liner system is desired, the carbon footprint of the GM footprint can be added to a CSL or GCL to estimate the carbon footprint for the single composite liner system.

Pond Leakage Calculator

The FGI Pond Leakage Calculator is an excel spread sheet based on Darcy's Law and produces a comparison between leakage rates for compacted soils and synthetic liners.  The FGI calculator allows the user to input the size of the containment basin (including length, width, depth, side slope angle and freeboard), the anticipated level of permeability using compacted clay/soil, and the relative cost of an acre foot of water.  It will in turn provide the volume of the basin in gallons, a comparison of leakage rates between the compacted soil layer and a synthetic membrane both in gallons and dollars.

This tool is designed to help consultants, engineers, architects and end users best decide how to line basins for capture and/or protection.  It does not take into account variances in quality of either liner type, construction short falls or operational impact on the long term effectiveness of the chosen liner.  FGI has additional research and publications to help with these other aspects of successful liner implementation.

Panel Weight Calculator

The FGI Panel Weight Calculator is a spreadsheet that calculates the surface area of a containment basin and then the number of factory fabricated flexible geomembrane panels that are required to cover or line the bottom of the basin. Afterwards, the spreadsheet calculates the weight of each panel based on the type of geomembrane selected, which can be varied. Using the number of panels required, the number of truck loads and days for field installation are calculated based on user selected allowable shipping weight/truck and number of panels that can be installed/day. The Calculator allows the user to input and vary the size of the containment basin, including length, width, depth, side slope angle, and freeboard. Using this data, the spreadsheet calculates the volume of the basin in gallons or liters and the surface area required to be covered or lined.

Geomembrane Defect Leakage Calculator

This calculator estimates the leakage through geomembranes and composite liners with and without geomembrane defects/holes. The calculator illustrates the importance of intimate contact between the geomembrane and compacted subgrade or soil liner via different levels of contact.  The effect of wrinkles on leakage rates is also quantified using a database of wrinkle dimensions for a number of common geomembranes, which shows the presence of wrinkles can significantly increase leakage rates.

Installation Cost Comparison Calculator

This calculator estimates the cost of installation, testing, and third party inspection for factory and field fabricated geomembranes. The calculator considers the differences in labor rates, field installation times, length of field seams required, seam and other testing, equipment, workforce size and per diem, and third party inspection costs between factory and field geomembranes to quantify the benefits of modular construction.

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