Geomembrane Microtopography by Atomic Force Microscopy Available to Purchase

The use of surface roughness measurements for evaluating and predicting the performance of composite geosynthetic structures has become of interest to the civil engineering profession, especially those involved in the design of landfills. This paper introduces a recently developed method, tapping mode atomic force microscopy, for measuring smooth high density polyethylene geomembrane microtopography. The surface morphology and the degree of surface roughness are examined at a scale comparable to fine-grained soil particles used in composite landfill liners. The results show that within a 10 μm² scan area, asperity relief ranges from approximately 0.46 to 2.4 mm. Surface roughness is quantified using mean roughness, root mean square roughness, surface roughness parameter, and fractal dimension.