PI: Daniel Ou-Yang
Co-PI(s): Lanfang Li
University: Lehigh University
High Density PolyEthylene based Water-Proofing Membrane (PEWPM) is a high-performance waterproofing material designed for infrastructure construction such as transportation tunnels, basement, and other underground facilities. The membrane comprises of extruded HDPE, a Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA) layer and a protective coating and a release film liner. The long-term waterproofing function derives from the HDPE membrane and a sacrificial protective layer is coated on PSA to protect the PSA layer from sticking to unwanted substrate or dirt until installation. This sacrificial release layer (SRL) needs to be a smart layer in that it is active and providing protective benefit during material storage and transportation, but automatically deactivates upon deployment. It is desirable to improve on the SRL which can have substantial impact on pollution, waste generation, and hazard mitigation during manufacturing. A water-based coating system is being developed by Oriental Yuhong North American LLC and this proposal is designed for a collaboration with Lehigh University to better elucidate the structure property relationship of the coating to achieve the required property balance of the protective function.