{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T15:13:51Z","timestamp":1786115631741,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]],"date-time":"2026-08-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785715200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100009101","name":"Education Department of Henan Province","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["252300420051"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["252300420051"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100009101","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["252300420051"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["252300420051"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00xvf9d29","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Postgraduate Education Reform and Quality Improvement Project of Henan Province","award":["YJS2026YBGZZ03"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["YJS2026YBGZZ03"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Polymers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC-P) geomembranes (GMBs) are widely used in cold regions as impervious barriers, facing combined low-temperature and variable loading effects. However, design specifications rely on room-temperature tests at fixed rates, not reflecting actual conditions. This study systematically investigates the axial tensile properties of a 1.5 mm thick PVC-P GMB across eight temperatures (\u221240 \u00b0C to 20 \u00b0C) and five tensile rates (1\u2013100 mm\/min). A total of 211 uniaxial tensile tests were conducted using a low-temperature system with a servo-hydraulic machine and DIC extensometer. Nominal and true stress\u2013strain curves were analyzed. Results show that fracture strength, fracture strain, and elastic modulus are highly sensitive to temperature and tensile rate, with a pronounced coupling effect between these two factors. Lower temperatures increase fracture strength and elastic modulus but reduce fracture strain, leading to brittle transition at \u221240 \u00b0C, especially at high rates. The fracture strength, fracture strain, and elastic modulus all increased with tensile rates at low tensile rates (1\u201320 mm\/min). However, negligible difference in these parameters at high rates (20\u2013100 mm\/min) was observed. Elastic modulus follows a Boltzmann function with temperature, and fracture strain linearly correlates with temperature (R2 &gt; 0.93). The mechanical properties measured at room temperature overestimate the deformability at low-temperature and hence underestimate the brittle failure risk. Therefore, future cold-region testing should adopt tensile rates of 10 or 20 mm\/min, and temperature-rate coupled constitutive models should be developed. These findings provide essential data and guidance for material selection, design, and standard revision for PVC-P GMBs in cold-region applications.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/polym18151908","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]],"date-time":"2026-08-03T15:51:23Z","timestamp":1785772283000},"page":"1908","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Response of Mechanical Properties in PVC-P GMB to Tensile Rate and Low Temperature"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Xinyan","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Water Conservancy, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhenxue","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jilin Provincial Center for Flood and Drought Disaster Prevention, Changchun 130031, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jian","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jilin Province Water Resource and Hydropower Consultative Company, Changchun 130021, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7740-3938","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xianlei","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Water Conservancy, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1680\/gein.13.00031","article-title":"Brittle rupture of an aged HDPE geomembrane at local gravel indentations under simulated field conditions","volume":"21","author":"Abdelaal","year":"2014","journal-title":"Geosynth. 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