AASHTO R 69 – Standard Practice for Determination of Long-Term Strength for Geosynthetic Reinforcement

Through this protocol, the long-term strength and stiffness of geosynthetic reinforcements can be determined. This protocol contains test and evaluation procedures to determine reduction factors for installation damage, creep, and chemical/biological durability, as well as the method to combine these factors to determine the long-term strength.

This protocol has been developed to address polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE or HDPE), and polyester (PET) geosynthetics (i.e., geotextiles and geogrids). For other geosynthetic polymers [(e.g., polyamide (PA) or polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)], the installation damage and creep protocols provided herein are directly applicable. While the chemical and biological durability procedures and criteria provided herein may also be applicable to other polymers (for example, hydrolysis testing as described in Annex C is likely applicable to PA and PVA geosynthetics), additionalinvestigation will be required to establish a detailed protocol and acceptance criteria for these other polymers. These other polymers may be considered for evaluation using this protocol once modifications to the chemical/biological durability aspects of this protocol have been developed and are agreed upon by the approval authority.