Study of the Ultraviolet Effect and Thermal Analysis on Polypropylene Nonwoven Geotextile

Valentin, Clever Aparecido; Kobelnik, Marcelo; Franco, Yara Barbosa; Lavoie, Fernando Luiz; Silva, Jefferson Lins da; Luz, Marta Pereira da

doi:10.3390/ma14051080

Cited by 16 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The effects of aging were then evaluated by comparing the results between virgin (reference) and aged samples. The use of thermal analyses to evaluate the durability of nonwoven geotextiles is still developing [4,5,12,13]. Thomas and Verschoor [12], for example, used thermal analyses (differential scanning calorimetry-DSC, thermomechanical analysis-TMA, and dynamical mechanical analysis-DMA) and physical property testing to study the chemical aging of nonwoven polyester geotextiles.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, as it is one of the major factors responsible for polymeric degradation, the influence of ultraviolet radiation (UV) on geosynthetics behavior, focused on in the present paper, is an important research subject in geotechnical engineering, considering that in many applications these materials are installed in an open environment, subject to sunlight exposure [4,5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Accelerated Aging Ultraviolet of a PET Nonwoven Geotextile and Thermoanalytical Evaluation

et al. 2022

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Nonwoven geotextiles are geosynthetic products that are highly susceptible to ultraviolet degradation because light can reach a large area of the material due to its fiber arrangement. Even with additives, which delay the degradation process, material decomposition still occurs, and therefore the product’s long-term durability can be affected. In this paper, the mechanical and thermal behavior of a commercial nonwoven polyester geotextile subjected to accelerated ultraviolet aging tests were evaluated. The deterioration was evaluated by comparing the physical properties (mass per unit area, thickness, and tensile strength) and thermal behavior (thermogravimetry—TG, thermomechanical analysis—TMA, and differential scanning calorimetry—DSC) before and after exposure times of 500 h and 1000 h. The results showed that the ultraviolet aging tests induced some damage in the polyester fibers, leading to the deterioration of their tensile strength. For 1000 h of exposure, in which the reduction was larger, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) found some superficial disruption of the fibers, indicative of damage. TG and DSC could not capture the effects of UV radiation on polymer degradation, unlike TMA. This latter technique was effective in showing the differences between specimens before and after UV exposure.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accelerated Aging Ultraviolet of a PET Nonwoven Geotextile and Thermoanalytical Evaluation

et al. 2022

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“…The majority of research on the UV degradation of polypropylene investigated the processes under accelerated laboratory conditions [24,25,[28][29][30][34][35][36][37], often when exploring different polymer additives. Exceptions to this are the work by Saliu et al who, in addition to laboratory tests, also examined masks sampled from Italian beaches [18], by Rathinamoorthy and Balasaraswathi who examined the stability of masks exposed to the environment for 30 days [22], by Rajakumar et al [26], who examined the chemical processes, as well as observational studies of masks encountered in the environment [22,38,39].…”

Section: Environmental Decay Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The principal outcome of the photo-oxidation is a loss of flexibility in the fibers, resulting in a stiffer fabric coupled with an increased brittleness of the fibers and the overall fabric [35]. The brittleness is generated by transverse cracks [40].…”

Section: Environmental Decay Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Decay of Single Use Surgical Face Masks as an Agent of Plastic Micro-Fiber Pollution

Spennemann

2022

Environments

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Large numbers of Single Use Surgical-type Face Masks, used by the public as personal protective equipment during the 2020–2022 COVID-19 pandemic, have been lost or intentionally discarded and have entered the environment rather than the waste management stream. These masks, made from non-woven polypropylene fibers, will undergo environmental decay which will release fiber fragments as microplastics into the environment. While the photochemical process of the decay of polypropylene polymers (photo-oxidation) is well understood, and while there are numerous studies that investigate mask decay and micro-fiber shedding in laboratory settings, there are no observational data that describe the progress and speed of decay on polypropylene face masks in real-life environmental settings. This paper examines the breakdown of single use surgical-type face masks under natural conditions. Masks from three manufacturers were exposed to natural sunlight over a ten-week period and their state of decay was photographically recorded in situ at weekly intervals. Visible decay accelerated after three weeks, with masks made from thinner spunbond fabric decaying more rapidly. Among same-weight fabric, photo-oxidation affected fabric dyed light blue more than undyed fabric, leading to a total breakdown after six weeks. The results are novel as they demonstrate a differential decay between the spunbonded and the melt-blown fabric, which cracks and breaks down much faster due to thinner fibers of shorter length and the lack of thermal bonding points. The resultant extensive micro-fiber generation was accelerated by external physical forces such as wind. This experiment highlights the fact that municipal agencies have only a narrow window of time to remove stray face masks from the urban environment if micro-fiber pollution is to be prevented.

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“…Successful development of such containment systems has significantly replaced the necessity of multilayered granular materials, thereby reducing the cost and carbon footprint in marine-related construction fields. Such innovative use of geotextiles as a hydraulic structure has been widely acknowledged and utilized in a variety of construction projects around the world [3][4][5][6][7]. This research focuses on a geotextile containment system, namely a geotextile tube (hereafter, Geotube ® ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing the Tensile Behaviour of Woven and Composite Fabrics under UV Exposure

et al. 2022

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Geotextiles exposed to sunlight undergo a certain degree of UV degradation. In this study, woven and composite geotextiles were subjected to outdoor weathering tests at various exposure levels (i.e., 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 months) to characterize their tensile behaviour. Each month, geotextiles were subjected to tensile tests according to modified ISO 13934 standards. Later, micro-scale approaches were undertaken to analyze the microstructure characteristics of the geotextiles and confirm the experimental results using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Results indicated that woven geotextiles underwent tensile strength degradation and became more brittle after 5 months of UV exposure, which showed the highest degradation of 69.55% for strength retained, followed by composite geotextiles that only indicated a minimal degradation of 94.19% for strength retained. The corresponding strain indicated a more pronounced degradation, with retained strain percentages of 80.74% and 82.63% after 5 months of UV exposure for woven and composite geotextiles, respectively. Surface micrographs of composite geotextiles indicated that the remarkable microcracks began to develop on the polymer surface after the second month and continued to develop after that. Surface degradation of woven geotextiles under SEM was characterized by the loosening of fibre alignment, and this phenomenon was found to become significant after the first month of UV exposure. FTIR analysis of geotextiles revealed a notable chemical structure alteration in the polymer (i.e., polypropylene) that was observed through the formation of peak absorbance in the 1713 cm−1 wavenumber after UV exposure. Overall, the results from all laboratory tests agreed well with each other and this study thus provides clear evidence of the UV degradation of geotextiles in response to outdoor weathering.

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Study of the Ultraviolet Effect and Thermal Analysis on Polypropylene Nonwoven Geotextile

Cited by 16 publications

References 28 publications

Accelerated Aging Ultraviolet of a PET Nonwoven Geotextile and Thermoanalytical Evaluation

Accelerated Aging Ultraviolet of a PET Nonwoven Geotextile and Thermoanalytical Evaluation

Environmental Decay of Single Use Surgical Face Masks as an Agent of Plastic Micro-Fiber Pollution

Characterizing the Tensile Behaviour of Woven and Composite Fabrics under UV Exposure

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