Temperatures of Insulated Landfill Liner

Abstract

Five methods for insulating the side slope of a landfill liner were evaluated in a field test. The insulations consisted of leachate collection sand, leachate collection sand and chipped tires, polyurea foam, polystyrene boards, and encapsulated fiberglass geoinsulation panels. Results of the study indicated that tire chips are an effective means of insulating landfill liners, whereas sand alone is inadequate. Of the three geoinsulations tested, the encapsulated fiberglass and extruded polystyrene worked best. The polyurea foam performed poorly, although its performance would have been better had it been thicker. The results of the study also indicated that freezing of the liner can occur near gaps between geoinsulation panels and at corners where the panels are joined if the overlaps or seaming methods are inadequate.