Project Completion Report / OWRT Project No. A-059-ARIZ / Development of Asphalt Cushioned Plastic and Plastic Reinforced Asphalt Membranes for Seepage Control / Agreement No. 14-31-0001-5003 / Project Dates: July 1974-June 1975. / This project was concerned with laboratory equipment development, laboratory testing, construction equipment development and field investigation of the APAC (Asphalt-Plastic-Asphalt-Chip-Coated) water seepage barrier. The laboratory equipment that was designed and fabricated for the project included hydrostatic testing vessels, slope stability apparatus, and tensile testing grips. Three testing methods were utilized and evaluated in the APAC investigation. The first test method evaluated the hydrostatic puncture resistance of the asphalt-polyethylene combination. This test confirmed the hypothesis that the asphalt effectively increases the puncture resistance of the APAC membrane over that of plain polyethylene. The second test investigated the slope stability of a protective APAC chip seal. It was found that a typical 3/8 in. (9.5 mm) cover aggregate remained stable on constructed slopes of 3:1 and 4:1 and that the 2:1 slope remained stable up to a surface temperature of 1220F (500C). The third test method evaluated adhesive materials and indicated that Presstite mastic was the best suited adhesive for sealing polyethylene overlaps. Subsequent field investigations resulted in equipment development that increased construction efficiency in the installation of the APAC membrane. Actual completed field installations were evaluated and further recommendations are included.

The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate orthogonal cutting as a method to determine the fracture toughness of low and high density polyethylene and wood plastic composites. A test fixture was developed to capture normal and tangential cutting forces at variable depth and rake angle. A tool interface method (TIM) is proposed to separate forces on both sides of the tool from the energy needed to propagate the crack. Also investigated were shear plane models of chip failure, which seek to measure toughness by modeling internal stresses in the chip. These results are compared to current methods of determining essential work of fracture (EWF). It is found that cutting requires much less energy than current methods of EWF. Further work is suggested to better parameterize failure. / Graduation date: 2013