Specimens are exposed in a xenon-arc or fluorescent UV cabinet, commonly for 500 hours, and retained tensile strength is reported as a percentage. Carbon black and UV stabilizers raise it, and highway geotextile specs typically demand at least 50 or 70 percent retained strength. The test ranks products but does not predict field life, so specs also limit how long fabric may lie uncovered.
UV resistance is only rated at 500 hours and those rolls have been on the slope since spring, so cover them this week.
Cover geotextiles inside the exposure limit in the spec; many lose noticeable strength after a few weeks of summer sun.
Also heard as
- UV stability
- ultraviolet resistance
- retained strength after UV
Related terms
Carbon black
Fine black pigment blended into polyethylene geosynthetics, usually at 2 to 3 percent, to block ultraviolet damage.
OIT
Oxidative induction time: a measure of how much antioxidant protection remains in a polyolefin geosynthetic.
Survivability
A geosynthetic's ability to make it through shipping, placement and compaction without being damaged.