Ingenieurwissenschaften und zugeordnete Tätigkeiten
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- 2016 (2)
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- Englisch (2)
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- Geosynthetics (2)
- Antioxidant (1)
- Autocalve testing (1)
- Oxidation (1)
- Oxidative resistance (1)
- Stabilization (1)
Testing of the oxidative resistance of polyolefin based geosynthetics in
autoclaves at high oxygen pressure has been suggested as an alternative method to
conventional forced-air oven aging. The intention is to shorten considerably the testing
time and to ensure that aging is performed under the condition of rate-controlled
and not diffusion-limited oxidation. We compare data from high pressure autoclave
tests (HPAT) with data from oven aging and water immersion tests at 80 °C. For this,
the stabilization of the samples has to be taken into account. Polyolefin based geosynthetics
are usually stabilized by two types of “packages” of antioxidants (AO), designated
here as P1 and P2. P1 consists of phenols and phosphites, P2 of hindered amine
stabilizers (HAS) in addition to a marginal stabilization P1 of the resin for the manufacturing
process. Phenolic and phosphite AO are quickly consumed in the HPAT.
Failure time is tremendously reduced compared to forced-air oven aging or water
immersion. The results are discussed within the framework of a basic autoxidation
scheme (Wise et al., 1997). The reduction is much greater than expected from theoretical
considerations. Therefore, a direct and degrading reaction of oxygen with the AO
has to be assumed. In case of HAS, the time dependence of the degradation of tensile
properties in the HPAT is significantly different from the dependence observed in
conventional forced-air oven aging and their effectiveness is likewise strongly reduced.
A conclusive interpretation of HPAT results needs a better understanding of
what happens to the AO at high oxygen pressure.
Plastic products used in geotechnical engineering, so-called geosynthetics, are often made of polyolefins (polyethylene or polypropylene) and stabilized against oxidative degradation by antioxidants (AO). Three types of AO “packages” are used: (P1) phenols and phosphites/sulfides, (P2) hindered amines (HAS) with a marginal stabilization P1 of the basic resin, (P3) a combination of packages P1 and P2 with comparable amounts of phenol and HAS. We report about long-lasting oven aging and water immersion tests at 80 °C of 29 different polyolefin based products (geomembranes, geonets and geotextiles). Pronounced differences in the degradation behavior were found depending solely on the type of AO package. In case of P1, the oxidative degradation is prevented by the AO. Autocatalytic oxidation only begins after depletion of AO and may lead to catastrophic failure depending on the environmental conditions. In case of P2, degradation starts right from the beginning. However, it is decelerated and proceeds gradually. In case of P3, the degradation behavior seems to be a superposition of the characteristics obtained for P1 and P2. Plotting the fractional loss of the AO in P1 and P2 as function of the square root of aging time, we identified two regimes of AO depletion. We suggest to attribute this observation to the different mechanisms of AO depletion.