EVALUATION OF THE DEGRADATION OF GEOTEXTILES SUBMITTED TO EXPOSURE BY ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF MOSSORÓ / RN

Geosynthetics, degradation, ultraviolet radiation.

It is essential that geosynthetics have a good durability when applied in the most diverse environments. Thus, it is important to evaluate how the material behaves in terms of its resistance to different degrading agents. The present research aimed to study the levels of degradation, carrying out tests, with variable specimen sizes, in which they were exposed, to ultraviolet radiation for a predetermined time. A woven geotextile was used, exposed to natural aging tests, in the municipality of Mossoró-RN. The material will be exposed for a period of approximately 3 months, with samples being obtained for the times of 1, 2 and 3 months for each type of test. The degradation test took place outdoors, using a table topped with naval plywood, in which samples with different sizes and thicknesses were placed. At the end of each determined period of time, samples were taken and prepared in specimens of thickness 50 and 200 mm, with lengths of 600 and 1000 mm, totaling 4 different specimen sizes, to carry out tests to determine the geotextile weight and unconfined tensile strength. The study proved to be of great importance for obtaining parameters, regarding the exposure of the material given a brief period of time, concluding that the geotextile presents good functionality in its use, in works that demand a certain amount of time for the installation of the material.