Over the past eight to ten years Committee D35 on Geosynthetics has been struggling with the question of accelerated weathering of geosynthetic products. This paper will attempt to describe the difficulties that have been encountered in developing an appropriate test standard for geosynthetic materials. The difficulties are both in the testing itself, and the use of the results of the testing.

The current test method for geotextiles was adopted in 1984. The method uses the xenon-arc type apparatus. Ever since 1984 the Committee has been performing inter-laboratory test programs aimed at preparing a precision statement for the method. Several factors have prevented this from happening. These include the difficulty in equipment calibration at the site of operation, which equipment manufacturers have indicated needs to be carefully controlled. One other factor which has made the process extremely difficult is the variation in the materials tested.