Performance-based Evaluation for Efficiency of Landfill Liner Systems

Efficiency of landfill liners system is usually evaluated based on leakage rate and mass flux. In this study, composite liner systems including the GCL(geosynthetic clay liner) composite liner, the Subtitle D liner, the Wisconsin NR500 liner, and the recently utilized double composite liner, which is a combination of the GCL composite liner and Subtitle D-type liner, have been examined. The leakage rate through circular and long defects in the geomembrane (GM) of the liner system was analyzed with the aids of analytical and numerical methods. For the mass flux criterion, contaminant transport through defects in the GM of landfill liners can be evaluated based on the calculated leakage rates. The diffusion rate of volatile organic compounds through intact landfill liners was evaluated by performing a one-dimensional numerical model. Cadmium and toluene were adoptted in the analyses as typical inorganic and organic substances, respectively, which will be chemical species encountered during landfill operation. The performance-based evaluation indicates that the double composite liner systems are superior to the other types of liner.