CONTAINMENT LINERS AND COLD TEMPERATURES

As everyone should know by now, flexible PVC liners are a great answer for corrosion resistance needs in secondary containment areas. PVC liners are quicker to install than coatings, typically have a much longer service life, and most importantly flexible liners are not affected when the concrete cracks.

Because of the many benefits associated with flexible liners they are often used in containment areas located outside. This brings up the question of the effects of the elements on flexible PVC containment liners and most notably cold weather situations.

Like most any other solid matter, thermoplastics (flexible PVC) will exhibit decreased flexibility or increased rigidity as temperatures decrease. At colder temperatures a flexible PVC liner is at greater subject to cold cracks due to physical trauma. Typical test results are around -10oF (ASTM D746) meaning that to these temperatures the material should withstand physical shocks as it would at warmer temperatures. Temperatures below this mark do not on their own cause any deleterious effects to the chemical resistance or service life of the liner. However, greater care should be taken to not expose the liner to physical trauma like foot traffic, dropping tools or equipment, as this could cause a cold crack or fracture to occur.

Also, this low temperature rating is not for installation purposes. We recommend for installation purposes that the liner be heated to at least 70oF before removing from its container and that the surrounding area be around that temperature during the installation.