Plastic Performance Test Standards (ISO / ASTM / IEC / GB/T)

September 14, 2024

Introduction

Today's plastics industry is developing rapidly, with many varieties of raw materials and new products. Before raw materials and new products are put into production and circulation, their quality has to be inspected to ensure that they meet the contractual requirements and to determine their scope of use and safety

performance, etc.

The properties to be considered for plastic products used in different situations vary. Usually according to the different purposes of use, to consider the mechanical properties of plastic products, thermal properties, electrical properties, aging resistance, optical properties, combustion properties, etc., but also must have to meet the requirements of the basic physical properties.

Plastic testing program mainly includes but is not limited to the following:

1. Physical properties testing: including density, ash, water absorption, water content, shrinkage, viscosity, melt flow rate, chemical resistance, air permeability, water vapor permeability.

2. Mechanical properties testing: such as tensile strength/modulus, elongation, Poisson's ratio, bending strength/modulus, impact strength, abrasion resistance, fatigue properties, creep properties, and so on.

3. Hardness property testing: including Shore hardness, Rockwell hardness, pencil hardness, ball indentation hardness, international rubber hardness, etc.

4. Thermal properties testing: including glass transition temperature, specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity, heat distortion temperature, Vicat softening point, coefficient of linear expansion, oxidation induction time, low temperature embrittlement temperature.

5. Optical properties testing: including refractive index, transmittance/transparency, haze, whiteness, yellowness index, gloss and so on.

6. Electrical performance testing: including surface resistance, volume resistivity, dielectric constant, dielectric loss factor, leakage trace index, arc resistance, corona resistance, electromagnetic shielding and so on.

7. Flame retardant performance testing: such as flame retardant grade, ultimate oxygen index, GWFI, GWIT, etc.

8. Aging resistance testing: such as laboratory light exposure, atmospheric natural exposure, hot air exposure, hot and humid exposure.

Plastic testing standards, commonly used to the following kinds:

1. ISO standards: International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards

2. ASTM standards: American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards

3. IEC standards: International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards

4. GB standards: mandatory national standards; GB/T: recommended national standards

This article is a relatively very comprehensive summary of commonly used plastics testing projects and testing standards, including ISO standards, ASTM standards, IEC standards, GB/T national standards, to share with practitioners in the polymer materials and plastics industry.

Author:

Ms. Tina

E-mail:

sales@honyplastic.com

Phone/WhatsApp:

+8618680371609