You are here:
STRESS CRACK TESTING OF POLYETHYLENE GEOMEMBRANES
Citation:
Halse, Y., R. Koerner, AND A. Lord, Jr. STRESS CRACK TESTING OF POLYETHYLENE GEOMEMBRANES. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/A-92/178.
Description:
The sensitivity of high density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembranes to stress cracking is evaluated under accelerated conditions at a constant stress. he test specimens are according to ASTM D-1822, and are of the dumbbell shape with a constant length in the central section. he accelerated testing conditions consist of a 10, Igepal wetting solution in tap water, at a constant temperature of 50 degrees C. he applied stresses are from 30% to 50% of the yield stress. t was found that most commercially available HOPE sheet material performs quite well in this type of test. nly one specimen in 80 showed any evidence of cracking and this may have been caused by other reasons. esting of field fabricated seams, however, resulted in relatively large numbers of cracked specimens. any of these test specimens showed signs of overgrinding and/or overheating. he results indicate that great care and excellent workmanship are required in the field fabrication of HOPE seams.