Paper Title
A 5-Parameter Isothermal Creep Model for Polymeric Liners
Abstract
Polymeric materials are commonly used as load-carrying components in different structural applications due to
the ease of manufacture, installation and long lifetime properties. In civil and mining engineering applications, fast-setting
thin polymeric liners are in demand as areal support elements in underground openings. The stability of the openings is
maintained by polymeric liners that might sustain the constant loads due to the presence of wedge blocks. Therefore, their
time-dependent mechanical response requires a better understanding. There is limited research conducted on the creep
modelling of polymeric liners. In this basis, this research aims to construct a new isothermal general creep behaviour model
for polymeric support liners. 1-day cured creep tests results of polymeric liner were used to derive a new creep model with a
combination of both Norton-Bailey and Kelvin creep models. The proposed model was also compared to the widely used
creep models in literature. Since the acting stress on the liner depends on the block weight in field applications and the block
weights are variable, a general creep model is developed to simulate the field behaviour of the liner under a wide range of
constant stress levels. The proposed general model provides representative equations with comparably lower standard errors
and this model might be used as an input for future numerical model studies in this field.
Keywords - Time-Dependent Model, Creep, Tunnel, Rock Support, Norton-Bailey, Kelvin.