Relationship Between PVC Geomembrane Density and Plasticizer Content

A relationship between the density of a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) geomembrane and its plasticizer content is established. Approximate linear relationships are proposed, and a numerical application is presented. Equations derived from the density-plasticizer content relationship are given to help interpret measurements performed on samples of geomembranes of unknown composition which are taken from the field to evaluate the long-term performance of installed geomembranes. A numerical example based on actual measurements on PVC geomembrane samples taken from the field is presented.