{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,13]],"date-time":"2026-03-13T20:19:24Z","timestamp":1773433164301,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"20","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,20]],"date-time":"2020-10-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1603152000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sustainability"],"abstract":"<jats:p>High-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembranes have been used for different applications in engineering including sanitation, such as landfills and waste liquid ponds. For these applications, the material can be exposed to aging mechanisms as thermal and chemical degradation, even to UV radiation and biological contact, which can degrade the geomembrane and decrease the material\u2019s durability. This paper aims to present an experimental evaluation of two exhumed HDPE geomembranes, the first was used for 2.75 years in a sewage treatment aeration pond (LTE sample) and another was used for 5.17 years in a municipal landfill leachate pond (LCH sample). Physical and thermal analyses were used such as thermogravimetry (TG), differential thermal analysis (DTA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanic analysis (DMA). The thermogravimetric analyses showed significant changes in the LCH sample\u2019s thermal decomposition probably caused by the interaction reactions between the polymer and the leachate. For the DSC analyses, the behavior seen in the LTE sample was not observed in the LCH sample. In the DMA analyses, the behavior of the LTE sample storage module shows which LCH sample is less brittle. The LTE sample presented low stress cracking resistance and low tensile elongation at break, following the DMA results.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/su12208682","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,20]],"date-time":"2020-10-20T09:28:23Z","timestamp":1603186103000},"page":"8682","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":25,"title":["HDPE Geomembranes for Environmental Protection: Two Case Studies"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1242-3708","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fernando Luiz","family":"Lavoie","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Civil Engineering, Mau\u00e1 Institute of Technology, 09580-900 S\u00e3o Caetano do Sul, Brazil"},{"name":"S\u00e3o Carlos School of Engineering, University of S\u00e3o Paulo-USP, 05508-220 S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2887-2834","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Clever Aparecido","family":"Valentin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"S\u00e3o Carlos School of Engineering, University of S\u00e3o Paulo-USP, 05508-220 S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil"}]},{"given":"Marcelo","family":"Kobelnik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"S\u00e3o Carlos School of Engineering, University of S\u00e3o Paulo-USP, 05508-220 S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2226-4950","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jefferson","family":"Lins da Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"S\u00e3o Carlos School of Engineering, University of S\u00e3o Paulo-USP, 05508-220 S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2390-4825","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria de Lurdes","family":"Lopes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Civil Engineering, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Rollin, A.R., and Rigo, J.M. 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