Polymer Testing 21 (2002) 489495 www.elsevier.

com/locate/polytest

Material Properties

Assessment of long-term performances of polyester geogrids by accelerated creep test

Han Yong Jeon
b

a,*

, Seong Hun Kim b, Han Kyu Yoo

a Department of Textile Engineering, Chonnam National University, Kwangju 500-757, South Korea Department of Fiber and Polymer Engineering, Center for Advanced Functional Polymers, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, South Korea c Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Ansan 425-791, South Korea

Received 8 May 2001; accepted 24 August 2001

Abstract Geogrids are widely used as the reinforcement materials in geotechnical and civil engineering elds. In this study, accelerated-creep tests at elevated temperatures to predict longer-term creep behavior of polyester fabric geogrids were examined using the timetemperature superposition principle. Creep tests were generally performed to calculate the partial factor of safety during the service time of polyester geogrids and two types of geogrids, having different design strengths ranging from 8 to 15 t/m, were used in this study. The creep tests were carried out at various temperatures and loading levels of 40, 50, and 60% of short-term design strengths. Also, the creep tests were made at temperatures between 20 and 50C to take into consideration the real environmental conditions of geogrids. The results indicated the applicability of the conventional procedures in prediction of longer time creep strain and material dependency of creep strains. 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Accelerated-creep test; Reinforcement material; Geogrids; Timetemperature superposition principle; Design strength

1. Introduction Typically, geogrids have grid structures with apertures of 10 100 mm between longitudinal and transverse ribs, respectively. There are two types of geogrids that are widely used in the geotechnical and civil engineering elds. One is the sheet type geogrid and the other is the fabric type geogrid. The sheet type geogrids are made from pre-extruded HDPE (high density polyethylene) geomembrane sheets using punching and drawing processes; the drawing process makes the grid structures and enhances the tensile strength of the ribs. The fabric type geogrids, on the other hand, are made with a high tenacity polyester lament using a conventional weaving and/or knitting process. Commonly, the fabric type geogrids are then coated with copolymer resins such as PVC (polyvinylchloride), bitumen, PP (polypropylene),

* Corresponding author. E-mail address: hyjeon@chonnam.ac.kr (H.Y. Jeon).

acrylic resins, latex and other rubbery materials, which contain a light stabilizer and antioxidant [6,7]. Since the geogrids possess high tensile strengths in nature, they are frequently used as the reinforcement in unpaved/paved road constructions, slopes of waste landll liner system, embankments and slopes, segmental retaining walls, and so on [4]. Most research work on the long-term behavior of geogrids has focused on creep behavior. Leshchinsky [8] researched the creep and stress relaxation behaviors of various types of geogrids. Allen [3] performed a series of accelerated creep tests on the sheet type geogrids of HDPE geomembranes with the appropriate loading levels and analyzes the creep behavior of geogrids. In the case of using geogrids for reinforcement, the allowable strength of the geogrid must be calculated based on the results of creep tests [9,10]. The allowable strength calculation method of geogrids was suggested by GRI Standard Test Method GG4 [5] to include the various reduction factors for creep, chemical resistance, biological resistance, joint strength and installation damage, etc. The most important factor affecting the allowable

0142-9418/02/$ - see front matter 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 1 4 2 - 9 4 1 8 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 0 9 7 - 6

490

H.Y. Jeon et al. / Polymer Testing 21 (2002) 489495

strength of geogrids is the factor of safety for creep and therefore, a series of accelerated creep tests were performed on two types of polyester geogrids in this study. The results of the tests were extrapolated to the time axis by using the timetemperature superposition principle and, then, linear regression curves were obtained from the extrapolated values to predict applicable strains at longer times. Finally, the factors of safety for creep deformations were calculated and compared for two types polyester geogrids. 2. Theoretical background In general, a period of 10,000 hours is adopted to predict the long-term strain of geogrids for extension creep tests. Therefore, it is a general practice that the test results from accelerated conditions are extrapolated up to one order of time using the principle of timetemperature superposition. The relationship between time and temperature can be explained with the shift factor at the accelerated temperatures. Through this relationship the strain can be shifted with time by a shift factor at the elevated temperature. Eq. (1) shows such a relationship, and the shift factor can be obtained using the WLF equation (Eq. (2)) suggested by Williams, Landel and Ferry [2]. E(T0,t) E T, t (1) aT C1(TT0) log aT (2) (C2+TT0) In the WLF equation, C1 and C2 vary with material and reference temperature. If the glass transition temperature (Tg) is used for extrapolation, C1 and C2 take the values of 17.4 and 51.6, respectively. This study was performed at a reference temperature of 20C and, therefore, C1 and C2 were corrected for temperature using Eq. (3) suggested by Takaku [11]. Cg 1 C1C2 , Cg C T T (C2+TgT0) 2 2 g 0 (3)

curves were included, one for the creep strain (solid line) and the other for the creep strain rate (dashed line). In general, a creep strain curve consists of four parts: initial, primary, secondary and tertiary creep. The initial creep deformation is removed before measuring the strain during the extension creep test. The primary creep deformation tends to increase exponentially with time while the strain rate shows exponential decay. The tendency of the secondary creep deformation appears as a linear and steady rise with the strain rate having a linear, steady decay. Finally, the tertiary creep deformation and strain rate show an exponential increase with time. The extrapolation of the creep strain result must be performed within the range of secondary creep deformation to acquire appropriate prediction results, due primarily to the asymptotic tendency of both strain and strain rate.

3. Experiments 3.1. Sample preparation Geogrids made with a high tenacity polyester lament, which were manufactured by a weaving and knitting processes, were used in this study. The transverse ribs (weft) are interlaced and inserted into longitudinal ribs (warp) by a weaving mechanism. The longitudinal ribs were then knitted to create stable junctions. This type of geogrid may be called a weft insertion warp knitting type. After fabrication, the geogrids were coated with PVC resin with additives. Fig. 2 and Table 1 show the morphological structure and detailed physical properties of the geogrids, respectively.

where Cg and Cg are constants, Tg is the glass transition 1 2 temperature, and T0 is the reference temperature. A typical creep strain curve is presented in Fig. 1: two

Fig. 1. Typical creep strain curves of polyester geogrid. E0, initial deformation; Ep, primary creep deformation; Es, secondary creep deformation; Et, tertiary creep deformation.

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of structure of weft insertion warp knitting type polyester geogrid.

H.Y. Jeon et al. / Polymer Testing 21 (2002) 489495

491

Table 1 Physical properties of polyester geogrid Physical property Appearance specication of geogrids Aperture size (mm) 8 t/m designed geogrid a ABb 24.224.6 Warp 1.5 1.8 Warp 40 CDc 20.020.0 Weft 1.5 Weft 40 15 t/m designed geogrid a ABb 27.024.8 Warp 1.9 1.8 Warp 34 CDc 19.119.7 Weft 1.9 Weft 40

Thickness (mm) Junction thickness (mm) Number of ribs

Grid density

a b c

Design strength of geogrid. Aperture size between ribs of geogrid. Inherent aperture size of geogrids.

Table 2 Types of geogrids with loading level of creep test Types of geogrid Loading level 8 t/m Tdesigned 40% load (kg) Tdesigned 50% load (kg) Tdesigned 60% load (kg) 320/4 ribs 400/4 ribs 480/4 ribs 15 t/m 350/rib 440/2 ribs 570/2 ribs

3.2. Short-term strength Single rib tensile tests were performed on the geogrids to measure the short-term strengths. These tests were performed in accordance with GRI Standard Test Method GG1 (Geogrid Rib Tensile Test). The tests were conducted using a universal tensile test device at a speed of 50 mm/min on the samples with an initial length of 100 mm. The strain of the geogrid was measured using a strain gauge attached at the middle point of rib. Each test condition was repeated 10 times to obtain more representative results. 3.3. Creep test Creep tests were performed according to ASTM D5262-92 (Evaluating the Unconned Tension Creep Behavior of Geosynthetics) [1]. The reference document can be found in the GRI Standard Test Method GG4 (b) (Determination of the Long-term Design Strength of Flexible Geogrids). Three loading levels were used at 40, 50 and 60% of the design strength of the geogrids. Table 2 shows the levels of load used in each test. Testing time was kept constant at 500 hours. Three different levels of temperature (20, 35 and 50C) were used to perform the accelerated tests. A chamber and hot air blower were used to maintain the constant temperature condition with 1C of accuracy.

The strain was measured by a LVDT (Linear Variable Differential Transducer) with a maximum extension and accuracy of 50 mm and 10 3 mm, respectively. The LVDT was directly linked to the clamp and dial gauges were attached at the mid-point of the samples to inspect the slippage between the sample and the clamp. The load was applied using compressed steel weights. Samples were attached to the loading device using a clamping system composed of a steel bar with bolts and nuts. Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the creep test apparatus.

4. Results and discussion 4.1. Shift factor Fig. 4 illustrates the relationship between temperature and shift factor calculated using Eqs. (2) and (3). In this gure a tendency of asymptotic linear decay can be observed. From this relationship, it can be conrmed that the shift factors computed from Eqs. (2) and (3) can be used to extrapolate the creep results. 4.2. Short-term strength The design strengths of the geogrids were obtained by single rib tensile tests. Fig. 5 shows the load vs. strain

492

H.Y. Jeon et al. / Polymer Testing 21 (2002) 489495

Fig. 5.

Single rib tensile strength curves of geogrid.

ing effect may rearrange the polymer chain structure of the junction parts in the geogrid. 4.3. Creep test Results of creep tests at each loading level and temperature for the 8 t/m geogrid are shown in Figs. 68, respectively. During the creep tests, all of the specimens subjected to loads of 40, 50 and 60% of the design strength exhibited the behavior of secondary creep followed by a linear increase tendency. The irregularity of the creep test results may be due to the slippage between specimens and grips. As can be seen in these gures, the variation in the creep strain with temperature appears to be negligible. This trend may be due to the fact that the polyester has a higher glass transition temperature than the test temperature, resulting in an insignicant amount of polymer chain mobility variation with temperature. The results after extrapolation and linear regression at each

Fig. 3.

Schematic diagram of creep test apparatus.

Fig. 4.

The relationship between shift factor and temperature.

curves obtained during the test. The maximum tensile strength of 8 t and 15 t geogrids was approximately 219 kg/rib and 485 kg/rib, respectively. Divided by the rib density per meter, tensile strengths of 8.7 and 16.5 t/m were obtained, designed geogrids 8 and 15 t/m, respectively. The measured strains for 8 and 15 t/m geogrids were 13.3% and 12.78%, respectively. In addition, it can be observed that the strain rate signicantly increases at 8% of strain. From a microscopic point of view, this trend may be attributed to the fact that the stress harden-

Fig. 6. Creep strain curves of 8T geogrid under 40% of design strength with temperature.

H.Y. Jeon et al. / Polymer Testing 21 (2002) 489495

493

Fig. 7. Creep strain curves of 8T geogrid under 50% of design strength with temperature.

Fig. 9. Master curves of 8T geogrid under 40% of design strength.

Fig. 8. Creep strain curves of 8T geogrid under 60% of design strength with temperature.

Fig. 10. Master curves of 8T geogrid under 50% of design strength.

loading level for 8 t/m design strength geogrids are presented in Figs. 911, respectively. The 10,000 hours prediction values of strain through the linear regression for 8 t/m geogrid are 7.46, 8.77 and 9.61% for 40, 50 and 60% of design strength, respectively. The results show a trend of increasing rate of strain with increasing levels of load applied. The results for the 60% of design strength indicate that the linear regression line becomes asymptotic at 10% strain. The creep test results at each loading level and temperatures for the 15 t/m geogrids are presented in Figs. 1214, respectively. Figs. 1517 illustrate the results of extrapolation and linear regression at each loading. The linear regression yields the 10,000 hours prediction values of strain of 7.24, 8.25 and 9.87% for 40, 50 and 60% of design strength, respectively. The creep behavior appears to be similar to that of the 8 t/m geogrid. Figs. 18 and 19 show the creep master curves for the geogrids at various loading levels. As can be seen in these gures, the initial strain values do not vary greatly from

Fig. 11. Master curves of 8T geogrid under 60% of design strength.

494

H.Y. Jeon et al. / Polymer Testing 21 (2002) 489495

Fig. 12. Creep strain curves of 15T geogrid under 40% of design strength with temperature.

Fig. 14. Creep strain curves of 15T geogrid under 60% of design strength with temperature.

Fig. 13. Creep strain curves of 15T geogrid under 50% of design strength with temperature.

Fig. 15. Master curves of 15T geogrid under 40% of design strength.

the 10,000 hours predicted values. Total creep strain can be explained as the initial creep strain subtracted from the nal creep strain. Total creep strain at 60% loading level is much higher than that that at 40% loading level. The reduction factor for safety could be calculated from the predicted creep values. The calculation method for the reduction factor for safety was suggested by GRI Standard Test Method GG4(b) and is presented in Eq. (4). RF TAS TDS (4)

where RF is the reduction factor of safety, TAS is allowable strength of the geogrids (10 year design life strength of the geogrid in sustained ASTM D4595) or sustained GG1, or ASTM D5262 testing in which the curve becomes asymptotic to a constant strain line, of 10% or less), and TDS is the designed strength of the geogrids.

Fig. 16. Master curves of 15T geogrid under 50% of design strength.

H.Y. Jeon et al. / Polymer Testing 21 (2002) 489495

495

5. Conclusions The results of a series of accelerated-creep tests at elevated temperatures on polyester geogrids have been obtained. Using the results, the creep strains for a longer creep time were predicted by applying principles of timetemperature superposition. Based on the ndings from this study, the following conclusions can be drawn. The differences between creep strains and short-term strains increased with an increase in applied creep tension load. The reason was that the stress, when applied to the specimen, increased as the strain progressed. This could be predicted over 10,000 hours of creep strain using the principle of timetemperature superposition. If a safety factor is applied to the geogrid, the allowable strength becomes design strength divided by reduction factor for safety and the allowable strength of the geogrid decreases. The reduction factor for safety of both 8 t/m and 15 t/m designed strength geogrids was 1.67. The material dependence of the long-term performance of geogrids was conrmed.

Fig. 17. Master curves of 15T geogrid under 60% of design strength.

References
[1] ASTM D 5262, Standard test method for evaluating the unconned tension creep behavior of geosynthetics, American Society for Testing and Materials, Pennsylvania, USA, (1992). [2] J.J. Aklonis, W.J. Macknight, Introduction to polymer viscoelasticity (2nd edition), John Wiley & Sons, (1983). [3] S.R. Allen, Determination of the long term tensile strength of geosynthetics: A state-of-the-art review, in: Geosynthetics91, Atlanta, (1991), 351379. [4] J.A. Finnigan, The creep behavior of high tenacity yarns and fabrics used in civil engineering applications, in: Proceedings of the International Conference on the Use of Fabrics in Geotechnics, Paris, France, (1977) 645650. [5] GRI Test Methods and Standards, Geosynthetic Research Institute, Philadelphia, USA, (1995). [6] T.S. Ingold, The geotextiles and geoemebranes manual, Elsevier Advanced Technology, (1981) 71246. [7] R.M. Koerner, Designing with geosynthetics, Prentice Hall Co., (1994) 328393. [8] D. Leshchinsky, M. Dechasakulsom, V.N. Kaliakin, H.I. Ling, Creep and stress relaxation of geogrids, Geosynthetics International 4 (5) (1997) 463479. [9] P. Rimoldi, F. Montanelli, Creep and accelerated creep testing for geogrids, in: Geosynthetics93, Vancouver, Canada, (1993) 773787. [10] W.S. Shelton, D.G. Bright, Using the arrhenius equation and rate expressions to predict the long-term behavior of geosynthetics polymers, in: Geosynthetics93, Vancouver, Canada, (1993) 789802. [11] A. Takaku, Effect of temperature on creep fracture of polypropylene bers, J Appl Polym Sci, 25 (1980) 1861.

Fig. 18. Master curves of 8T geogrid at various creep loading levels.

Fig. 19. Master curves of 15T geogrid at various creep loading levels.