ABSTRACT
The durability of geosynthetics used in aggressive environments can be affected by many degrading agents. This is why this paper is devoted to the study of the mechanical resistance of a geogrid based on polypropylene with respect to sulfuric acid (to create a medium rich in sulfur). To do this, the geogrid was subjected to an immersion test in the laboratory, considering different concentrations of sulfuric acid (in this case: 4% (0.8 mol.L-1) 10% (1.2 mol .L-1) and 16% (3.2 mol.L-1)). The damage caused by the accelerated degradation test was evaluated through the analysis of the results of the tensile test carried out on intact and degraded samples. The results show that the maximum tensile strength, as well as the tensile strength at 2%, 5% and 10% strain of the geogrid, did not undergo significant changes after the immersion tests regardless of the concentration. sulfuric acid. However, the corresponding strain to the maximum tensile strength underwent an increase in particular for acid concentrations greater than or equal to 1.2 mol.L-1. This result clearly shows the effect of the aggressive environment on the behavior of the geogrid is well as the observation of irreversible damage after only 1 month of immersion in sulfuric acid.
