Long-term performance and binder chemical structure evolution of elastomeric bituminous geomembranes

This paper presents the results of uniaxial tensile tests, flow-rate measurements, and size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), which are used to evaluate the ageing of elastomeric bituminous geomembranes (BGMs) that were installed 6, 10, 15, 20, and 30 years ago in ponds at two different sites in France. SEC was used to detect oxidation and the absence of polymer in the bitumen at the surface of the 20- and 30-year-old BGMs. The results indicate that, for BGMs exposed less than 20 years, there was no oxidation or degradation of the polymer at the core. However, the elastomeric polymer was altered at the core of the 30-year-old BGM, resulting in an embrittlement of the bitumen, but this did not affect the mechanical properties of the glass veil and nonwoven polyester geotextile in the BGM core. Lastly, the flow rates through the BGM measured according to EN 14150 are still below 10−6 m3 m−2 d−1, which indicates that the elastomeric bituminous GM is still watertight after 30 years of exposure.