As Engineers, we use the term “failure” in a number of ways but know that it implies something did not perform as expected. Was it the fault of the “failed” thing or action, or was it a failure in how it was expected to perform, under those conditions? Regardless, we all know that failure brings negative connotations in many ways, and none are desirable.
Many engineers would argue that geomembranes are only fluid barriers and are not meant to be load bearing in any manner. All loads should be carried by geosynthetic counterparts, such as geotextiles, geogrids, etc., that are placed over and under the geomembrane. However, from a materials and installation standpoint, it is virtually impossible to transmit all load to the adjacent layers. Additionally, it is not usually cost-effective to build a heavily redundant composite system that takes all mechanical bearing off the geomembrane.
Designing Geomembranes in Cold Environments
In this two-part series, we’ll review common cold crack index testing for geomembranes and field failure scenarios under cold conditions.
Two Part Blog:
Part 1: Evaluating Geomembrane Cold Crack Testing Data
Part 2: Five Causes of Cold Weather Geomembrane Failures