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Geomembrane
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A geomembrane is very low permeability synthetic membrane liner or barrier used with any geotechnical
engineering related material so as to control fluid (or gas) migration in a human-made project, structure, or
system. Geomembranes are made from relatively thin continuous polymeric sheets, but they can also be made
from the impregnation of geotextiles with asphalt, elastomer or polymer sprays, or as multilayered bitumen
geocomposites. Continuous polymer sheet geomembranes are, by far, the most common.
Contents
1 Manufacturing
2 Properties
2.1 Physical properties
2.2 Mechanical properties
2.3 Endurance
2.4 Lifetime
3 Seaming
4 Applications
5 See also
6 References
7 Further reading
Manufacturing
The manufacturing of geomembranes begins with the production of the raw materials, which include the
polymer resin, and various additives such as antioxidants, plasticizers, fillers, carbon black, and lubricants (as a
processing aid). These raw materials (i.e., the "formulation") are then processed into sheets of various widths
and thickness by extrusion, calendering, and/or spread coating.
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Geomembranes dominate the sales of geosynthetic products, at 1.8 billion USD per year worldwide, which is
35% of the market.[2] The US market is currently divided between HDPE, LLDPE, fPP, PVC, CSPE-R, EPDM-
R and others (such as EIA-R), and can be summarized as follows: (Note that M m2 refers to millions of square
meters.)
The above represents approximately $1.8 billion in worldwide sales. Projections for future geomembrane usage
are strongly dependent on the application and geographical location. Landfill liners and covers in North
America and Europe will probably see modest growth (~ 5%), while in other parts of the world growth could be
dramatic (10–15%). Perhaps the greatest increases will be seen in the containment of coal ash and heap leach
mining for precious metal capture.
Properties
The majority of generic geomembrane test methods that are referenced worldwide are by the ASTM
International|American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) due to their long history in this activity. More
recent are test method developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Lastly, the
Geosynthetic Research Institute (GRI) has developed test methods that are only for test methods not addressed
by ASTM or ISO. Of course, individual countries and manufacturers often have specific (and sometimes)
proprietary test methods.
Physical properties
Mechanical properties
There are a number of mechanical tests that have been developed to determine the strength of polymeric sheet
materials. Many have been adopted for use in evaluating geomembranes. They represent both quality control
and design, i.e., index versus performance tests.
tensile strength and elongation (index, wide width, axisymmetric, and seams)
tear resistance
impact resistance
puncture resistance
interface shear strength
anchorage strength
stress cracking (constant load and single point).
Endurance
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Any phenomenon that causes polymeric chain scission, bond breaking, additive depletion, or extraction within
the geomembrane must be considered as compromising to its long-term performance. There are a number of
potential concerns in this regard. While each is material-specific, the general behavior trend is to cause the
geomembrane to become brittle in its stress-strain behavior over time. There are several mechanical properties
to track in monitoring such long term degradation: the decrease in elongation at failure, the increase in modulus
of elasticity, the increase (then decrease) in stress at failure (i.e., strength), and the general loss of ductility.
Obviously, many of the physical and mechanical properties could be used to monitor the polymeric degradation
process.
Lifetime
Geomembranes degrade slowly enough that their lifetime behavior is as yet uncharted. Thus, accelerated
testing, either by high stress, elevated temperatures and/or aggressive liquids, is the only way to determine how
the material will behave long-term. Lifetime prediction methods use the following means of interpreting the
data:
Stress limit testing: A method by the HDPE pipe industry in the United States for determining the value
of hydrostatic design basis stress.
Rate process method: Used in Europe for pipes and geomembranes, the method yields similar results as
stress limit testing.
Hoechst multiparameter approach: A method that utilizes biaxial stresses and stress relaxation for
lifetime prediction and can include seams as well.
Arrhenius modeling: A method for testing geomembranes (and other geosynthetics) described in Koerner
for both buried and exposed conditions.[1]
Seaming
The fundamental mechanism of seaming polymeric geomembrane sheets together is to temporarily reorganize
the polymer structure (by melting or softening) of the two opposing surfaces to be joined in a controlled
manner that, after the application of pressure, results in the two sheets being bonded together. This
reorganization results from an input of energy that originates from either thermal or chemical processes. These
processes may involve the addition of additional polymer in the area to be bonded.
Ideally, seaming two geomembrane sheets should result in no net loss of tensile strength across the two sheets,
and the joined sheets should perform as one single geomembrane sheet. However, due to stress concentrations
resulting from the seam geometry, current seaming techniques may result in minor tensile strength and/or
elongation loss relative to the parent sheet. The characteristics of the seamed area are a function of the type of
geomembrane and the seaming technique used.
Applications
Geomembranes have been used in the following environmental, geotechnical, hydraulic, transportation, and
private development applications:
See also
Electrical liner integrity survey
References
1. Koerner, R. M. (2012). Designing With Geosynthetics (6th ed.). Xlibris Publishing Co., 914 pgs.
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Further reading
1. ICOLD Bulletin 135, Geomembrane Sealing Systems for Dams, 2010, Paris, France, 464 pgs.
2. August, H., Holzlöhne, U. and Meggys, T. (1997), Advanced Landfill Liner Systems, Thomas Telford
Publ., London, 389 pgs.
3. Kays, W. B. (1987), Construction of Linings for Reservoirs, Tanks and Pollution Control Foundation, J.
Wiley and Sons, New York, NY, 379 pgs.
4. Rollin, A. and Rigo, J. M. (1991), Geomembranes: Identification and Performance Testing, Chapman
and Hall Publ., London, 355 pgs.
5. Müller, W. (2007), HDPE Geomembranes in Geotechnics, Springer-Verlag Publ., Berlin, 485 pgs.
6. Sharma, H. D. and Lewis, S. P. (1994), Waste Containment Systems, Waste Stabilization and Landfills, J.
Wiley and Sons, New York, NY, 586 pgs.
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