CHAPTER 1:

INTRODUCTION
At the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Describe the concept of physical testing, standardization
and specification.
2. Describe the two methods of test specimen preparation.
3. Discuss the purposes of conditioning the test specimen.
4. Explain the significance of physical testing on the
polymeric materials.
 Polymeric materials are in many ways very distinct from
conventional materials such as metals and glasses.
Thus, polymers are unique.
 They have different physical and chemical properties suited to
different applications.
 One of the most factor in the performance of these materials is the
physical and mechanical properties of the materials and products.
 These properties tell a polymer scientist or engineer
many of the things he or she needs to know when
considering how a polymer can be used.
 Therefore, it is important to gain knowledge in
physical testing for plastics and rubbers.
1) Mechanical properties of solids:
 Usually determined by test resulting in various deformation-vs-
stress dependencies, such as stress-strain diagrams.
 Examination of such dependencies readily brings out
characteristics of elasticity, plasticity, and strength.
2) Mechanical properties of liquids:
 Assessed by studying the dependence of the rate of
strain on the stress applied.
 One of the most common mechanical
characteristics determined in this way
is viscosity.
  The tests performed on plastics and rubbers can be grouped in
various ways :
Tensile Test
Volume resistivity Impact Test
Dielectric strength Flexural Test
Mechanical
Dielectric constant Electrical Tear Test
properties
properties

Flow/
Thermal
processability
properties
properties
VSP
HDT MFI
 For reasons of speed, economy and convenience, tests such
as tensile strength measurement and impact strength
determination are the ones most often employed.
 These are both examples of mechanical tests; sometimes
referred to as physical property determinations.
 Standard testing can be viewed as a convenient shortcut,
which allows the rapid generation of quantitative information
on material properties.
• A material’s response to a load.
• The mechanical properties of a polymer involve its behavior
under stress.
 How strong is the polymer?
How much can you stretch it before it breaks?
 How stiff is it?
How much does it bend when you push on it?
 Is it brittle?
Does it break easily if you hit it hard?
 Is it hard or soft?
 Does it hold up well under repeated stress?
• Basic material properties:
General properties Electrical properties
Weight: Density , Mg/m3 Conductor?
Expense: Cost/kg , RM/kg Insulator?

Mechanical properties
Stiffness: Young’s modulus E, GPa
Strength: Elastic limit y , MPa
Fracture strength: Tensile strength ts , MPa
Brittleness: Fracture toughness Kic , MPa.m1/2

Thermal properties
Expansion: Expansion coeff. , 1/K
Conduction: Thermal conductivity , W/m.K
• The mechanical behavior of polymers is however
dependent on many factors, including:
 polymer type
 molecular weight
 test procedure
 test temperature
 rates.
• This can be especially important to the designer
when the product is used or tested at
temperatures near the glass transition
temperature (Tg) where dramatic changes
in properties occur.
 Mechanical properties

Strength Formability Rigidity Toughness Durability

Modulus of Impact
% elongation, elasticity, strength, Hardness,
Tensile, Yield, % reduction in Flexural Notch
Compression, wear
area modulus sensitivity resistance,
Flexural,
Shear, Creep, fatigue
Stress rupture strength

Serviceability factors and related mechanical properties.

 Standardization is the requirement for testing.
 The mechanical tests that have been devised fall into 2 main
categories:
i. Those which are suitable for quality control and specification
purposes, and
ii. Those which yield data suitable for design purposes.
 Whether a test is used to determine an absolute
value of a property (for research) or whether its
purpose is routine quality control, a major
requirement of the test is that it should be
repeatable.
 People in the same laboratory, or in different laboratories,
should be able to get the same result on the same material.
 Since there are a large number of factors (such as test machine
design, test piece size, shape and method of production, testing
temperature, etc. which will influence the result obtained, it is
obvious that standardisation of test methods is essential.
 To achieve this, various organizations have evolved in
many countries and each organization prepared
and issues standards suitable for testing a
wide range of materials.
 Organization for standardization of test method:

MS • Malaysia standard

ISO • International Standards organization

BSI • British Standards Institution

ASTM • American Society for the Testing of Material

FDA • Food and Drug Administration

DIN • Deutsche Industrie Norm

• The development of standard tests is normally the work of
committees and is based on experience and agreement.
• Each standard test is the subject of a document, written in such a
way that a good technician, with access to appropriate
commercial equipment, will find all the information needed to
carry out the test and to obtain results that should not depend
significantly on human errors.
• Each standard test is given as a code number by the
sponsoring organization, for example:
 ASTM D790
Flexural test
 ISO 178
• Most standard test require the use of test specimen of specific
geometry (shape and dimensions).
• The method of preparation of test specimens depends on a number
of factors, including the type of polymer and the form in which the
material is available.
• There are 2 methods of test specimen preparation:
1. Test specimen for soft / thin plastics or elastomeric
flat stock (films, sheet, etc.):

 Test specimen can be stamped out (die-cut)

with a suitable sharp cutter.
 2. Test specimen for rigid plastics:

 Test specimen can be molded into the desired shape.

a) Injection molding: b) Compression and transfer molding:

 It is a rapid way of obtaining
many test specimens.
 Disadvantages:
 The specimens can feature a
non-homogeneous structure.
 Non-homogeneous
orientation (anisotropy).
 The properties can be
affected significantly by the
process parameters.
 It is the most convenient method
for thermosetting plastics and
vulcanized or reactive elastomers.
 It is not representative of most
commercial fabrication processes
for thermoplastics.
 Disadvantages:
 Slow process.
 Tends to give homogeneous
and isotropic test specimens.
• The properties of polymeric materials tend to be strongly
affected by temperature, and therefore, important to specify
the temperature of the material during a test.
• A number of polymeric materials (polyamides, cellulosics, etc.)
can absorb small amounts of water (moisture), which affects
many of their properties.
• As a result, no matter which test method is employed,
it is important to ensure that the samples have
received the same conditioning before testing.
• Test specimen conditioning is defined as reaching thermal and
moisture equilibrium.
• For many materials, this conditioning is simply storing the
specimens at a standard temperature before testing.
• Conditioning is important to stabilize the polymer samples,
hence give an accurate test result.
• Standard conditioning temperature: lab temperature
at 23±2°C (73.4°F).
1. For Quality Control
 To ensure that polymer process and manufactured article
perform satisfactory and uniformly.
 Incoming materials (raw materials), in-process materials &
finished product.

2. For Research and Development (R & D)

 Research: to understand process, mechanism
and performance of article.
 Development: to developed new (improved)
process and article.
3. For standards & specifications test
 To follow specification as per standard in order to ensure the
good quality of manufactured article/products.

4. The other reasons for testing are:

• To prove design concepts
• To provide a basis for reliability
• Safety
• To verify the manufacturing process
• To evaluate competitors’ products
• To establish a history for a new materials
• Within the family of plastics and rubbers, properties vary widely
and, furthermore, the properties of an individual polymer can be
dramatically altered by compounding with other ingredients or
by altering the processing conditions.
• Consequently the measurement of physical properties (the
physical testing of plastics and rubbers) is extremely important
in the development of science and technology of those
materials.
• What do we need to know about materials to design a product?
Data Statistical Selection of Economic analysis
capture analysis material and process and business case

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Test Test data Design data Potential Successful
applications applications

Characterisation Selection and implementation

• There are many reasons for writing specifications, but the major
reason is to help the purchasing department purchase
equipment, materials, and products on an equal basis.
• The specifications, generally written by the engineering
department, allow the purchasing agent to meet his requirements
and ensure that the material received at different times is within
the specified limits.
• The specification is intended to ensure batch-to-batch
uniformity, as well as remove confusion between
the purchaser and supplier—we all know that
more often than not what is provided by the
supplier is not what is expected by the purchaser.
 POLYMER PHYSICAL TESTING

Plastic Rubber

Tensile Test Tensile Test

Density Density

Impact Test Hardness Test

Flexural Properties Cure Test

Melting and Softening
Mooney Viscosity Test
Test
Tear Test

Fatigue / Flex Cracking Test

Abrasion / Wear Test

Resilience Test