GUIDELINES FOR INSTALLATION

OF MACLINE HDPE GEOMEMBRANE

Summary:
General description of the product........................................................................................ 2
Welding and tests of PE-HD geomembranes .......................................................................... 4
Preparation of an installation ............................................................................................... 9
An installation ................................................................................................................. 12
Basic description the same time the width of the sheet enables
The HDPE (high density polyethylene) MACLINE relatively easy handling with individual rolls.
geomembrane is made from high quality raw Each roll is marked with a self-adhesive label
material - granulate by extrusion technology. containing specifications of the product. The
Material is resistant to chemicals, alkaline, acid labels help with the product identification. An
and salt solutions. However, various combinations ispection certificate is issued for each roll. Those
of chemical agents with different concentration steps are a part of an internal control system.
and temperature can appear and that is why we
suggest to contact us to consult individual cases.
Material resists to mildew, microorganisms and to
roots penetrating. The geomembrane is safe to
health, it also does not affect drinking water. The
geomembrane is UV stabilized.
Compared to other polymers, the geomembrane
is characterized by high resistance to chemicals
(an aggressive environment of waste landfills),
excellent mechanical properties (high strength,
tensile), long lifetime.
The PE-HD geomembrane JUNIFOL is produced in
the standard:
- width of sheet: 5,10 or 8,0 m
- thickness: 0,60; 0,75; 1,00; 1,50; 2,00; 2,50
mm
- type: smooth/smooth; smooth/textured;
textured/textured
- length of roll: according to the type and
thickness
An advantage of a wide sheet is a significant
reduction of a number of welds that are generally
the most sensitive point of the sealing system. At

Recommendation for use of the MACLINE HDPE geomembrane

Geomembrane th. (mm)
Application 0,6 0,75 1 1,5 2,0 2,5
Insulation against radon x x x x x x
Insulation against dampness x x x x x x
Hydro-insulation of buildings x x x x x
Reservoirs sealing x x x x

Sealing of fuel supplies and

x x x x
supplies of chemicals

Landfills sealing S II x x x
Landfills sealing S III x x x
Landfills sealing S IV x x
Landfills capping x x x x
Sealing of water constructions
x x x x x
- ponds and rivers
Most of the information stated in the following chapters geomembrane for insulation against dampness, radon
applies to waste landfills insulation and to insulation and for hydro-insulation of buildings follows different
against pressure water. A use of the MACLINE principles.

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Welding Ways of welding
Welding can be carried out only at temperatures a) welding by hot wedge - welding without
above +5°C and at relative humidity of air 85% welding additives
max. It is necessary to carry out special steps in b) welding by hot air - welding without welding
special cases. Before welding begins, it is additives
necessary to carry out test welding with material c) extrusion welding - welding with a welding
intended for the process while relevant welding additive, i.e. extrudate
parameters (temperature, speed, pressure) are - a raw material of the extrudate and the
set (or determined) on the welding machine. Test geomembrane has to be identical
welding should be carried out 1x/day at least, or
with each change of welding conditions. Data Types of welds
regarding the test welding and welding samples a) overlapped welds without a trial canal (simple
should be recorded in a protocol. joint)
If the geomembrane is being joined, separate b) overlapped welds with a trial canal (double
sheets have to overlap each other longitudinally joint)
and transversally. c) deposit welds (extrusion joint)

bp = width of trial canal ü = total lapping

do = thickness of top sheet ü1 = front total lapping
du = thickness of bottom sheet ü2 = back total lapping
dN = thickness of seam bN = total width of seam
dN1 = thickness of front partialseam bN1= width of front partial seam
dN2 = thickness of back partialseam bN2= width of back partial seam

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It can be proved that dimensions of the weld the width and length and should be limited by the
meet regulations in regard to the material and to sort of thickness and by working process.
the use, or requirements in regard to a project: Conclusive definitive standards for
» back loose lapping should be at least 40 mm, thicknesses of seams
also because of a trial-technical reason. Front fNA = a factor of seam thickness for an applied
loose lapping should be max. 5x the thickness of weld = dN/(do + du)
the sheet. Locally terminated deviations do not da = a joining track (a change of thickness) for a
affect the quality of the seam. lapped seam = (do + du) - dN
» a width of seams and canals concluded in a Lapped seams without additional material
contract, or written in regulations for a specific Sheets made of partly crystallic materials, for
use, must be kept; example PE-HD 0,2<da<0,8
» thicknesses of seams should be regular along Sheets made of unformed materials 0<da<0,6
Lapped welds 1,25<fNA<1,75

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Inspection of welds quality necessary to adjust the testing process to a
a) visual check particular form of the weld. According to that, the
Skilled rewiev of external condition requires following processes are used:
special professional knowledge and experience. Lapped seams without a trial canal
Conclusions about tightness and strength of a A test by a high voltage
weld can be deduced generally only. A test by vacuum
b) a check of seam dimensions Lapped seams with a trial canal
This test finds out characteristic dimensions of a A test by compressed air
seam on strip trial bodies from a weld, or on the Deposit welds
weld itself. A test by a high voltage
Measured values should meet dimensions stated A test by vacuum
in the chapter 5.1.2. (seam types)
c) seam tests - tests can be destructive and A test by compressed air
undestructive. A test by compressed air tests a tightness of
lapped welds with a trial canal (double-weld) at a
c.1. destructive defined mechanic stress.
To find out strength of a joint properly, Testing conditions, as a trial pressure and
destructive Peel Test in Traction (peeling tests) duration of the test, have to be adjusted to a
are carried out on random samples. sheet material, a sheet thickness, to trial canal
As trial pieces, samples taken upright to the weld dimensions and to temperature.
are taken the way so that they have a sufficient The test can be carried out 1 hour after the
length of a fix. joining soonest. Temperature of the sealing sheet
The peeling test is carried out on each weld can be max. 60°C.
during the insulating system assembly directly at At one end, a device for supply of compressed air
a waste landfill by a mobile tearing device, one with a manometer or a pressure register is
test per each 100 m of the weld at least. installed, it closes the trial canal hermetically.
Here the compressed air is brought and then
clearness of the seam is tested. The other end of
the weld is closed hermetically, for example by
welding with hot gas or by a clamp device.
A trial pressure itself is adjusted not until one
minute of preliminary stress so that initial
deformations are conditioned. The preliminary
stress is set to same values of the final test
pressure.
A trial time for testing by compressed air is 10
minutes. When the trial time is out, a canal at the
opposite end has to be opened. Air must escape
at once.
The peeling test is considered successful if a Welds that cannot be tested parallely are tested
sealing sheet has been prolonged next to the weld section by section. If there are some mistakes
(so-called a plastic deformation) and then the that cannot be determined instantly we have to
geomembrane sheet has been torn outside the appoint suitable shorter trial sections to limit the
weld. problem sections.
c.2. undestructive tests
During parallel testing of welds for tightness it is

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A seam is considered tight if the pressure in the The trial pressure follows the geomembrane
trial canal does not fall more than 10% of the thickness. Values are stated in the following chart:
initial value during a specified trial time.

geomembrane pressure (bar)

thickness (mm)
1,0 1,5 - 2
1,5 2,3 - 3
2,0 3-4
2,5 3,5 - 4,5

A vacuum test
A vacuum test can be used to control tightness A test by a high voltage
either lapped seams, or deposit welds. The test This testing process is based on a principle of
proceeds by means of a see-through trial cover discharge in gas, an application of a high voltage
(bell) connecetd to a vacuum pump. The cover on a discharging track.
has a pressing sealing ring on its rim to close the Testing device composes of a voltage source and
tested area hermeticaly. a brush electrode.
During the test, a vacuum (depression), that The process expects an opposite electrode made
needs to be adjusted to the material and from conductive material at the back side of the
thickness of sheets and to dimension of the trial seam.
cover, is ran into the cover. Basically we can test tightness of all kinds of
Non-destructive tightness tests of of lapped seams by this process. The test is used mostly for
seams with joined (closed) front edges and of deposit welds, i.e. for welds which do not have a
deposit welds can be done by the vacuum test trial canal.
section by section. The seam area has to be dry and clean; dirt
Relevant shaped trial covers are used for corners, particles can create an insulating layer and
edges and angles. influence the test this way.
A minimum of 1 hour should pass between joining A trial voltage has to be adjusted to the material
and testing to create a time space for and thickness of the sheet and also to the weld
conditioning. A tested seam area is smeared, or width (the trial voltage is 15 - 40 kV).
sprinkled, by a liquid creating bubbles, for For example, for HDPE sheets 2,0 mm thick and
example a soap solution. (It has to be insured more is 40 kV an acceptable trial voltage. If the
that this liquid, in given conditions, does not trial voltage is 40 kV, a width of discharge is more
affect unfavourably a longtime seams behaviour.) than 15 mm in dry air. That is why, for example,
The trial cover is applied and compressed the way cca 30 mm wide deposit welds can be tested if the
so that the tested seam lies approximately electrode lies in the middle of the weld, non-
centrally to the axis of the trial cover. During tightness is parallel and runs approximately
removing of the cover, it is necessary - due to upright the weld. The moister the air is the bigger
longer tested sections - to keep the overlap of the the widths of discharge are.
tested areas = 10 cm. Sheets are tested under A brush electrode is run over the weld at speed
the pressure of 0,4 bar. These trial pressures 10 m/min. It has to be ensured that the power
(depressions) have to be constant for at least 10 creating flashover of the sparkle can be created.
sec. Flashover of sparkles between electrodes that can
The vacuum is indicated by manometer. Bubbles be seen and heard happens at non-tightnesses
appear if the seam is not tight. These locations parallel with the whole length (a half of the weld
are marked. width).
The seam is considered tight if the vacuum is The weld is considered tight if there is no sparkle
increased fluently, stays constant during the trial discharge.
time and no bubbles appear in the seam. It is possible to prove only no-tightnesses which
Due to a big time absorption for testing of long are parallel and they run upright the weld. The
seams, the vacuum test is usually limited to short distance of the brush from the weld has to be
seams and partial areas as corners, connectors, adjusted the discharge width in the air.
T-joints and so on. The vacuum test can be an
additional test for other testing methods.

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 Test protocols
Results of tests at the building site are stated in
the
test protocols.

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An installation plan joints should not appear in the plan and also there
Geomembrane sealing is laid in accordance with was as few extruded welded joints as possible.
an ahead prepared istallation plan which Deviations during the installation works are
determines dimensions and mutual position of acceptable with an agreement of the inspection
separate sheets of the geomembrane laid to the body. A plan base for the installation plan has to
sealing. On the slopes of the waste landfill the be provided by a planner in time.
geomembrane should be laid the way so that it
could be unrolled down the hill. Lay-out of the The installation plan should include the
geomembrane sheets at horizontal parts is following points at least:
adapted to this requirement. Lay-out of separate - the weld position
sheets has to be placed so that the joints will not - uniform marking of all welds
cross at a single spot. - a position of special constructions (for example -
Joining of separate geomembrane sheets is done ends of pipes, connecting with present
by welding. The way of welding has to meet the constructions)
geomembrane producer´s requirements. In order - according to their types (see the chapter 5.1.2.)
to join separate parts of the geomembrane after - a conventional width of used plastic sealing
they had been put down, they have to overlap sheets
each other sufficiently at longitudinal and Possible ways of geomembrane sheets
transversal direction (see part 5 - welds). modification at the corners of the waste landfill
Before installation works begin it is necessary that are shown on the following pictures.
the supplier proposes a plan of the installation
with marked welding seams to the inspection
body. It is necessary to remember that cross

A) a tree with an inserted sheet.The method is a

classic solution of the waste landfill corner.

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B1) a tree - a waste landfill - This method is used
on short slopes in the waste landfill corners.

B2) a tree - overlapping - This method is mostly

used for waste landill capping

C) a slope - Corners - This method is used mostly for

shorter slopes to cap waste landfills or for fractional
slopes of oblong waste landfill shapes.

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Ending of the geomembrane sheet laid on the It ispossible to store the rolls in three layers this
slope must not be done at the bottom of the way. Rolls must be secured against movement.
slope. A minimal distance from the bottom is 1,5 Whole manipulation with sealing materials must
m. A minimal distance of two (T) joints from each be carried out the way so that they will not be
other should be 0,5 m. damaged or degraded. If that happens, they must
not be used in the sealing system.
Handling, transport and stocking
In order not to damage the matrial during the A base for geomembrane sealing
transport and handling, it is necessary to adhere Establishing of subgrade conditions should be
to the following policies: done in sections by geotechnical supervision, a
The transport has to be done by suitable clean base layers supplier and by an installation
vehicles with sufficient load carrying capacity. A company. A report needs to be made and it will
special attention has to be paid to loading and be passed to the installation company as an
unloading of the geomembrane, to ensure that it agreement with starting of installation works. The
will not be damaged mechanically. A common installer carries out a visual control of the surface
transport is in three layers. 4 rolls at the bottom and marks it in the inspection protocol before the
layer, 3 rolls at the middle layer and 2 rolls at the sealing sheets are unrolled. It is necessary to
top layer. Rolls must be secured against ensure determined values of requirements
movement by wedges and belts. A suitable regarding the sealing area before the sealing
vehicle has to be used for unloading - a crane or a sheets are laid.
forklift truck. We suggest using textile belts with a The geomembrane can be laid only on a firm,
sufficient carrying capacity. level and smooth surface of the base without
It is necessary to put rolls on a flat surface, free sharp objects. If it is necessary to lay the
of sharp objects (stones, branches etc.) at the geomembrane on a coarse-grained material
construction site. To protect the geomembrane, a subgrade, it is necessary to underlay the
base layer of geotextile can be used. geomembrane with more suitable material or with
geotextile of corresponding parameters.

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Climatic conditions immediately after its installation. All control steps
Surrounding conditions can have an essential need to be done before covering the
influence on the way of joining and thereby on the geomembrane to ensure a quality of the
quality of the joint. It is necessary to keep the geomembrane coat.
following: For each geomembrane sealing we recommend an
» welding is not allowed without safety installation of equipment for geomembrane
arrangements if it rains (a local covering etc.) integrity control which will be carried out when
» welding should not be carried out if the drainage or covering layers have been laid down.
temperature is lower than +5°C; in exceptional
cases it is necessary to do special arrangements A testing weld
(a tent) and to pre-heat geomembrane sheets Before the welding works begin, it is necessary to
» a continuous weighting of geomembrane carry out - 1x a day at least or before each
sheets has to be ensured if it is windy change of welding conditions - test welding with
» with welding machines working on a principle the material determined for process while there
of geomembrane heating during welding with a have to be set, or determined, relevant welding
hot air it is necessary to ensure a protection of parameters on the welding machine. Then it is
the welding machine against a direct influence of necessary to take sample every 100 lm of the
the wind on the hot air flow. The same weld, the same with bigger temperature changes,
arrangements stand for an extrusion welding - a wind power or air dampness, and also if the
danger of cooling and “blowing away, overheat” process of welding has been interrupted and if
there have been detected defects on the used
An installation and securing of welding machine. The welding test is considered
geomembrane sheets positive if there is an extention (a plastic
Laying down a sealing sheet can start only if there deformation) along the weld during the peeling
cannot appear any permanent changes of test by the weld.
conditions regarding the subgrade during the
installation. It is necessary to remember the Welding and tests
protection against wind. A thermical expansion Procedures during welding and geomembrane
(“waving”) conditioned by heat is permissible, it tests are described in detail in the chapter 5.
follows material properties (a heat expansivity)
and it cannot be prevented practically. That is Details
why a technological process must count on it, Design of details around penetrating bodies
however folding of "waves" must not happen. A If some waste landfill device (for example shafts,
coefficient of a plastic sealing sheet thermal pipes) penetrates the sealing, the sealing system
expansion should be used the way so that pouring must be connected to this device safely and
of protection drainage layers takes place when waterproof so that the sealing cannot be affected
"waving" of geomembrane sheets is minimal. We by influence of various vertical and horizontal
recommend a presence of an external supervision deformation of adjoining structures.
during this process. Joining of the sealing geomembrane to other
The geomembrane is protected against possible waste landfill structures and sealing penetrations
damage by wind by an adequate weighting of the must be taken care of in details of the sealing
surface (for example tyres, sacks with sand etc.) system project. Some of possible penetrations
and by anchoring to anchoring grooves (notches) and joining to concrete constructions follow.

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A) Pipe penetration through sealing by means of HDPE plate

B) Pipe penetration through sealing with use of more sealing layers

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C) If some material other than geomembrane
penetrates, it is possible to use a penetration by
means of a sleeve (cuff) from MACLINE
geomembrane

A pipe is fastened to the geomembrane sleeve by

a pulling collar (the pull) and by sealing material.
We recommend to use two pulling collars.

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D) Other was of joining pipes from other material than the geomembrane is made of is joining by means
of a firm and a loose flange.

Ways of anchoring to concrete constructions: For those applications, a ledge made from Pz, Cu
Against descending water or Al plate with a corresponding mastic is a
(anchoring of insulations at top parts of shafts, sufficient anchoring element, distance of
reservoirs etc.; at which the anchoring will not be anchoring elements (rivets, anchoring dowels,
strined by pressure water for even a short time). anchors etc.) is 100 - 200 mm.

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Against pressure water or short-time strain
by pressure water by screws and anchoring dowels. Distance of
To join the MACLINE geomembrane to a separate screws depends on a solidity of the ledge
concrete construction, it is possible to use a and on the type of anchoring.
plate that is anchored in the concrete

Anchoring of the geomembrane to concrete by a

stainless steel ledge

Distance of screws depends on a solidity of an geomembrane to concrete by a HDPE anchoring

anchoring ledge, or of an anchoring profile (for element. This anchoring element is installed
steel amchoring plate 10 mm thick the distance already during concreting itself and the
should not be bigger than 150 mm). MACLINE geomembrane is anchored to it by an
It is also possible to anchor the MACLINE extrusion weld.

Anchoring of the geomembrane with a HDPE

anchoring element

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Anchoring on slopes slope.
Geomembrane sealing and protective geotextile A rim of the geomembrane sheet in the anchoring
have to be anchored on slopes. Anchoring ditchs groove is overlapped so far that it covers the
(notches) are usually used for this purpose. This whole bottom of the ditch. The ditch dimensions
anchoring should ensure not only reliable depend on the length and the slant of the slope,
anchoring of the sealing to its surroundings and on the kind of the used geomembrane and on the
its ending but also to support its stability on the kind of separate sheets of the sealing system.

Minimal recommended values for the slope slant

up to 1 : 2,5 are stated in the chart
length of slope length in m
length of slope a b c
<10 m 0,5 0,5 0,5
10 - 30 0,8 0,6 0,6
>30 m 1 0,8 0,8

We recommend to use bench on long slopes. Sealing

can here be fixed by terrestrial inter-ditch.

An important factor is to ensure a temporary temperatures influence and that way its influence
stability of the geomembrane for the time when on the geomembrane stability can be reduced. We
the anchoring ditch is not finished (properly recommend to anchor the geomembrane by steel
earth-filled and firmed). The geomembrane can hooks or by a similar way to the bottom part of
be partly pulled out from the notch because of the terrestrial ditch.

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A stability of a sealing system on slopes Maccaferri supplies, apart from the HDPE
A stability of separate elements of sealing and geomembrane with a smooth surface, also a
drainage system and of protective and capping geomembrane textured on one side or on both
layers on the slopes of a waste landfill subgrade sides.
or on waste landfill slopes during its closing have A project designer can use the MACLINE
to be proved in the waste landfill design. Data geomembrane with a structured surface where it
about physical-mechanical characteristics of is needed to increase a safety coefficient and the
separate materials, obtained from their slope slant. The use of structured geomembranes
producers, and by carrying out relevant tests in a has an influence on improvement of all kinds of
range of project and geotechnical and research factors for various applications.
works, are used for this purpose. In this solution The geomembranes with the textured surface are
of stability, especially protection against mutual specific with smooth trims cca 15 cm wide. It
displacement of sealing system separate layers means that common procedures of smooth
and its movement on the subsoil surface have to geomembrane joining can also be used for
be proved. textured geomembranes. The welding technology
Friction rates between the MACLINE does not require any change for direct joints. For
geomembrane and various soil materials and sheets where we have to weld the sanded part it
between the MACLINE geomembrane and the top is necessary to remove the sand (grinding
protective or filter layer have a crucial role to machine, scrape), or to re-set parameters of the
determine a static safety on slopes. The safety is welding machine.
ensured if a sum total of sliding forces is smaller Advantages of textured geomembranes in contact
than a sum with soils or geosynthetic materials are:
total of frictional forces. To increase transmission - high friction coefficient with soil
of forces in a filter layer above an insulating - high friction coefficient with geosynthetic base
sheet, textured sheets can be used. Strain - high angle of inner friction with the top
deformations between separate terrestrial layers protective geotextile
affect friction rates above and under the
geomembrane.

A chart of friction angles of the MACLINE geomembrane with various materials

Textured HDPE Smooth HDPE
Material geomembranes geomembranes
Friction angle (in grades) Friction angle (in grades)
Sanded clay 35 18
Fine-grained clay 32 16
Nonwoven geotextile (Netex) 33 11
Bentonite mat 33 11
Sand 35 20
Concrete 42 22
Above stated values are of informative character natural components creating an insulating system
only. The producer recommends to carry out for a particular application.
shear tests of relevant geosythetic materials and

Protective and covering layers parts. If some construction is damaged anyway, it

When the sealing sheets have been welded and has to be recorder and the defect removed
the tests done, or after they have been assumed, immediately.
it is immediately necessary that the installer puts No vehicles or machines can wheel directly on the
down the geotextile protective layer if it is geomembrane sealing surface. A movement of
specified by a project designer. belt machines is allowed only after a sufficiently
The sealing system in whole and its separate thick (0,30 m at least) protective or drainage
parts must be protected against damage during layer has been laid or when inner temporary
building works, during the operation and after the communications have been built of pannels,
closing of the waste landfill. hurdles etc.
The protection of the sealing system elements has
to be included already in the design of the sealing Documentation of construction
system constructional lay-out and in the specified The installer should adapt the installation plan in
work processes for establishing of its separate accordance with an actual situation, i.e. a

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construction documentation (a record about layer (in the case of wheeling directly on gravel
relevant changes of installation, a record about drainage layer there is a danger of “earthing of
the places where test samples were taken) should the machines” or trucks and the following damage
be disposed. of the geomembrane sealing). Before it is laid, a
protective geotextile has to be laid if it is specified
Procedure for an initiation of an installation by a design. The first layer of waste should be
Heaping up of the first layer should be done by a created by loose material free of bigger parts
front pouring of the layer at least 1 m thick so which could damage the geomembrane (metal,
that the machines or trucks move only on this concrete etc.).

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