Plastics, aging properties tests

Mechanical properties of plastics can be determined by short, single-point quaUty control tests and longer, generally multipoint or multiple condition procedures that relate to fundamental polymer properties. Single-point tests iaclude tensile, compressive, flexural, shear, and impact properties of plastics creep, heat aging, creep mpture, and environmental stress-crackiag tests usually result ia multipoint curves or tables for comparison of the original response to post-exposure response. 

ASTM D 5510 Standard Practice for Heat Aging of Oxidatively Degradable Plastics This practice dehnes the exposure conditions of plastic at various temperatures when exposed solely to hot air for an extended period of time. Any particular property of plastics can be chosen as a readout. Technically, any composite material, shape and profile, can be tested in accordance with this practice. Two methods of oven exposure are recommended in the practice, of which only procedure B is applicable to composite materials because it is intended for specimens having a nominal thickness greater than 0.01 in. Procedure A is recommended for film specimens. 

The mechanical properties of ionomers can be appreciably altered by the manner in which the ionomer is prepared and treated prior to testing. Some of the factors that are influential are the degree of conversion (neutralization) from the acid form to the salt form, the nature of the thermal treatment or aging, the type of counterion that is introduced, the solvent that is used for preparation of thin films, and the presence and nature of any plasticizers or additives that may be present. In the scope of this chapter, it is not possible to provide a complete description of the influence of each of these variables on the wide variety of ionomers that are now commercially available or produced in the laboratory. Instead, one or more examples of the changes in properties that may be induced by each of the processing variables is presented and discussed. 

Generally, vulcanised rubber is dimensionally very stable (unless it is strained), which probably explains the lack of standard test methods for this property. In this context, thermal expansion and swelling in liquids are properties considered in their own right and not normally thought of as being measures of dimensional stability. This is a different situation to that which exists with plastics where a number of dimensional stability tests are in existence. If a measure of dimensional change is required, the appropriate dimensions of a suitable sized test piece can be measured by any of the methods mentioned in this chapter before and after an ageing treatment. 

This action eliminates the need for a costly mechanical roughening process that most other materials require. The depositing of a metal surface on plastic parts can increase environmental resistance of the part, also its mechanical properties and appearance. As an example a plated ABS part (total thickness of plate 0.015 in.) exhibited a 16% increase in tensile strength, a 100% increase in tensile modulus, a 200% increase in flexural modulus, a 30% increase in Izod impact strength, and a 12% increase in deflection temperature. Tests on outdoor aged samples showed complete retention of physical properties after six months. 

Determination of the residual antioxidant content in polymers by HPLC and MAE is one way to determine the amoimt needed for reasonable stabilization of a material, and also to compare different antioxidants and their individual efficiencies. During ageing and oxidation of PE, carboxyhc acids, dicarboxylic acids, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, n-alkanes and 1-alkenes are formed [86-89]. The carboxyhc acids are formed as a result of various reactions of alkoxy or peroxy radicals [90]. The oxidation of polyolefins is generally monitored by various analytical techniques. GC-MS analysis in combination with a selective extraction method is used to determine degradation products in plastics. ETIR enables the increase in carbonyls on a polymer chain, from carboxylic acids, dicarboxyhc acids, aldehydes, and ketones, to be monitored. It is regarded as one of the most definite spectroscopic methods for the quantification and identification of oxidation in materials, and it is used to quantify the oxidation of polymers [91-95]. Mechanical testing is a way to determine properties such as strength, stiffness and strain at break of polymeric materials. 

PVC films plasticized with polyesters Lll and BT12-14 were also studied by FTIR, DSC, and tensile testing both before and after aging in water at 24 °C for 6 weeks to evaluate the preservation of material properties for the different... 

Hot-Air Test Tiibe Aging. In this method (ASTM D 865), specimens are heated in air but confined within individual test tubes. This prevents cross-contamination of compounds due to transfer of volatile materials (e.g., antioxidants, curatives, plasticizers, degradation products, and so on) from one sample to another. Thus, this test is free of some of the complications that can occur when numerous compounds are aged in the same enclosure. As before, hardness and tensile mechanical properties are measured before and after aging. 

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