ABSTRACT
Understanding the life expectancy and performance characteristics of geosynthetic products is critical in the design of containment and storage systems. Standard testing methods do not enable assessment of the expected long-term performance of products exposed to challenging exposure conditions such as those related to storage of unique solid and liquid waste by-products generated by industrial and mining sectors. Therefore, the adoption of alternate approaches for assessment of material durability under anticipated exposure conditions is necessary. Accelerated exposure testing programmes were undertaken on several different HDPE geomembrane product samples to assess the material performance under different expected service conditions. The laboratory testing programmes included the simulation of a very high pH environment, very low pH environment and extreme UV exposure conditions. The results were used to assess the expected performance of the candidate products proposed by manufacturers for use in different applications. The outcomes of the testing indicated significant variability in expected long term durability under the different assessed conditions for the different HDPE geomembrane products. These results indicate the need for this type of testing to provide evidence to support the choice of geomembrane materials for applications involving exposure to challenging conditions.
