5.1 The oxidative induction time is a characteristic of a compounded polyolefin product that is dependent not only on the type and amount of additives present, but also on the type of resin. In well-behaved systems, this test method can be used as a quality control measure to monitor the stabilization in geosynthetics as received from a supplier.

5.2 When this test method is used to compare different geomembrane formulations containing different antioxidant packages, then those results shall be considered valid only at the temperature of test.

5.3 This test method is intended as an geosynthetic test. Use of the OIT value to estimate the lifetime of the geomembrane from which the test specimen is taken is not addressed nor shall it be used for this purpose.

5.3.1 The OIT measurement is an accelerated thermal aging test and, as such, interpretation of resulting data may be misleading if done by an inexperienced operator. Caution should be exercised in data interpretation since oxidation reaction kinetics are a function of temperature and the properties of the additives contained in the geosynthetic sample. For example, OIT values are often used to select optimum resin formulations. Certain antioxidants, however, may generate poor OIT results even though they may be adequate at their intended use temperature and vice versa.

5.4 This test method can be used for other purposes such as manufacturing control and research and development.

5.5 Oxidation induction time is strongly dependent upon test temperature and the partial pressure of oxygen. The higher the test temperature or the oxygen partial pressure, or both, the shorter the oxidation induction time.

5.5.1 The use of high test temperature, however, may have deleterious effects. The first of these is the potential volatilization of additive packages used to stabilize the test materials. The second is the potential for the influence of chemical mechanisms which are not significant at end-use operation conditions.

5.5.2 This test method uses high oxygen pressure to accelerate the test period while making use of lower test temperatures to protect additive packages.

5.6 The results from this test method may or may not correlate with those obtained by other OIT measurements such as Test Method D3895 or Test Methods D4565.

1.1 This test method covers a procedure for the determination of the oxidative induction time (OIT) of polyolefin geosynthetics using high pressure differential scanning calorimetry.

1.2 The focus of the test is on geomembranes, but geogrids, geonets, geotextiles, and other polyolefin-related geosynthetics are also suitable for such evaluation.

1.3 This test method measures the oxidative induction time associated with a given test specimen at a specified temperature and pressure.

1.4 This is an accelerated test for highly stabilized materials. It is applicable only to material whose OIT values under 3.4 MPa of oxygen is greater than 30 min at 150°C.

1.5 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in each system may not be exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems may result in non-conformance with the standard.

1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. Specific precautionary statements are given in Section 8.