Italclay

Products - Geosyntetics Clay Liners

Among the best waterproofing technology available

GCL stands for Geosynthetic Clay Liner. This is a family of multilayer waterproofing membranes generally made by:

-a layer of a hardwearing, non toxic and non biodegradable geotextile,
-a layer of swelling clay, generally Bentonite, between the layers of the geotextiles

Most of GLC produced today are needle punching reinforced: this process dramatically increase internal shear resistance and long-term creep resistance, making GCL suitable for a wider range of applications, including on slope and even in vertical.

When hydrated between 2 containment layers, the Bentonite inside the GCL swells, forming, altogether with the geotextiles, a ultra-low permeability barrier, with the equivalent hydraulic protection of several feet of compacted clay. The excellent hydraulic properties and slope performance of the GCLs make the product ideal for many lining and cap containment projects.

GCLs are used as waterproofing membrane for below ground concrete structures as well: in this case the blankets are confined between a layer of structural concrete and compacted soil or cement grout.
GCLs forms a continuous, compact, resistant watertight barrier, with a very unique property: they remain hydroactive over their lifetime, ready to swell again and fill voids that could eventually appear over the years. This because, by design, some of the Bentonite inside the blankets cannot fully swell because lack of physical space between the molecules.

That's why GCL's are today considered by the experts the “best practice” for membrane-based waterproofing.