caa a22 4500 445385413 CHVBK 20180317143031.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170323e20110601xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10924-011-0288-2 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10924-011-0288-2 Degradation Behaviour and Field Performance of Experimental Biodegradable Drip Irrigation Systems [Elektronische Daten] [Demetres Briassoulis, Epifania Babou, Miltiadis Hiskakis] The field performance of experimental biodegradable drip irrigation thin wall and regular pipes was investigated through three sets of full-scale experiments and in the laboratory. These experimental biodegradable drip irrigation systems were produced through the processing of biodegradable under real soil conditions polymers, Mater-Bi and Bioflex. The mechanical behaviour of the biodegradable thin wall pipes during the irrigation period was more unstable when compared to the corresponding behaviour of the rigid pipes. The tensile strength of the Mater-Bi and Bioflex thin wall pipes remained almost constant during the total exposure time, except from the folding areas. During the first 7-23days of exposure in the field, the thin wall pipes had already lost more than the 50% of their initial elongation at break value due to degradation. However, their hydraulic performance began to decline only after a period of 100-120days with the simultaneous formation of the first cracks. Likewise, the majority of the series of biodegradable rigid pipes exhibited a remarkable reduction in their elongation at break values in the transverse direction within the first 2weeks. Despite the significant drop of the elongation at break, all biodegradable rigid pipes generally retained their tensile strength as well as a satisfactory hydraulic performance during almost the whole duration of their exposure. A few premature leakages in some points adjoining the drippers were observed after 8-10weeks of exposure. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 2011 Biodegradable plastics nationallicence Irrigation thin wall pipes nationallicence Irrigation pipes nationallicence Drippers nationallicence Biodegradation nationallicence Briassoulis Demetres Department of Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855, Athens, Greece aut Babou Epifania Department of Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855, Athens, Greece aut Hiskakis Miltiadis Department of Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855, Athens, Greece aut Journal of Polymers and the Environment Springer US; http://www.springer-ny.com 19/2(2011-06-01), 341-361 1566-2543 19:2<341 2011 19 10924 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-011-0288-2 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-011-0288-2 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Briassoulis Demetres Department of Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855, Athens, Greece aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Babou Epifania Department of Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855, Athens, Greece aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Hiskakis Miltiadis Department of Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855, Athens, Greece aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Journal of Polymers and the Environment Springer US; http://www.springer-ny.com 19/2(2011-06-01), 341-361 1566-2543 19:2<341 2011 19 10924 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer