Tensile resistance of geomembranes for high temperature applications

Andrew Mills

In the proceedings of: GeoVancouver 2016: 69th Canadian Geotechnical Conference

Session: GEOSYNTHETICS

ABSTRACT: Inmany applications, geomembranesmay beexposed to high temperatures for varying periods of time.This includesgeomembranes exposed on vertical wallsandsteep slopes, in landfillsandwaste lagoons, orused forthe secondarycontainment of hot liquids.If the geomembraneis loaded in tension at the same time,theproductmay be at risk offailure due to creep rupture.Indeed,depending on the polymer•s intrinsic thermal properties, softeningmaycause asignificant loss in tensile strength even at temperatures well below the melting point.The high temperature tensilestrength of several geomembranes made from various types of polymersiscompared in this paper.A fabric-supportedhightemperaturepolyvinyl chloride (PVC)geomembraneexhibitsthe highesttensile strength over the whole range oftemperatures studied. Polyethylene Raised Temperature (PE-RT)high density polyethylene(HDPE) also displayedsome interesting performance.Finally, a loss in geomembrane elasticity as a function of the temperature was evidencedby dynamic mechanical analysis.RESUM†Dansde nombreusesapplications, les g‡omembranes sont expos‡es… des temp‡ratures ‡lev‡es pour des p‡riodesvariables.Ceci inclut les g‡omembranesinstall‡essur des murs verticaux, sur des pentes raides, sur des sitesd•enfouissement, dans des bassins de r‡tention ou pour le confinement secondaire de liquides chauds.Lorsque lag‡omembrane est‡galementsoumise … une contrainte en tension… une temp‡rature ‡lev‡e, le mat‡riaupr‡sente unrisque de rupturesous l•effetdufluage.En effet, en fonction despropri‡t‡s intrins—ques du polym—re, le ramollissementpeut causer une perte significativede lar‡sistanceentension… des temp‡ratures bien en-dessous du point de fusion.La r‡sistance en tension … haute temp‡rature de plusieurs g‡omembranes fabriqu‡es … partir dediff‡rentstypes depolym—res est compar‡e dans cet article.Une g‡omembrane enpolyvinyle chlor‡ (PVC)renforc‡e d•un support tiss‡montrela r‡sistance en tension la plus ‡lev‡e sur tout le domaine de temp‡ratures ‡tudi‡es. Lepoly‡thyl—ne … hautedensit‡ pour hautestemp‡ratures(HDPEPE-RT) a ‡galement offert des performances int‡ressantes.Finalement, uneperte d•‡lasticit‡ des g‡omembranes en fonction de la temp‡rature a ‡t‡ mise en ‡vidence par analyse m‡caniquedynamique.

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