Plastics and their Importance

A Guide to Different Types of Plastic Testing

Plastics, both man-made and naturally occurring, have unique mechanical properties. The production process and materials used significantly affect the finished product’s mechanical qualities. In demanding industries like automotive and aerospace engineering, precision testing equipment from Testometric ensures the selected material meets desired performance characteristics. Testometric offers set for various plastic tests, including flexural, peel, shear, adhesion, and more.

The term “plastic” is used to describe a wide variety of man-made and naturally occurring substances, each of which has unique mechanical properties.  Many different types of fillers and reinforcing materials are used in the production of plastics. The selection of these materials and the manufacturing process can significantly alter the mechanical qualities of the finished product. Because of the important role they play in today’s most demanding industries, such as automotive and aerospace engineering, the performance of modern plastics must be closely monitored and evaluated. The precision testing equipment from Testometric can guarantee that the selected material has the required performance and characteristics for the intended end-use. There are sets for every type of plastic imaginable. Whether you’re conducting a flexural, peel, shear, adhesion, puncture, tear, hardness, ring stiffness, friction, tensile, compression, etc. test, we have the grips, software, and other accessories you need.

Tensile

For tensile testing of plastics, there are a plethora of grips to choose from. For secure gripping, a wide variety of these is required, including self-tightening, manual, hydraulic, and pneumatic variants. All relevant calculations, such as yield stress, strain, E modulus, UTS, etc., are built into the WinTest software.

The following are examples of adaptable testing procedures:

Plastics—tensile characteristics according to ISO 527-2 and ASTM D 638: Standard Practice for Plastic Molding and Extrusion Plastics’ tensile properties

• ASTM D 882 Thin plastic sheeting’s tensile properties under ASTM D 882 Thin-sheet polymers for tensile testing
• ASTM D 1708 micro tensile ASTM D 2990 polymers for tensile testing Creep, rupturing, and compression, tensile, and flexural stresses in plastics
• ASTM D 3826 The tensile test for determining the degradation end point of polyethylene and polypropylene
• ASTM D 5083 Reinforced thermosetting plastic’s tensile characteristics.
• BS 2782: Elastic modulus, tensile strength, and elongation
• BS 2782-3 Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) product tensile strength and elongation at break testing
• BS 2782-11 Tensile properties of dumbbell specimens made from PVC gutter profiles of thermoplastic pipes, fittings, and valves
• Standard: British and European ISO 527 film and sheet tensile properties
• Standard: British and European ISO 527 Plastics for injection molding and extrusion: tensile properties—testing conditions
• BS EN 12311 Bitumen sheets for roof waterproofing BS EN 12814 Tensile Test for Testing Welded Thermoplastic Joints
• Tensile test using waisted test specimens; BS EN 12814; testing of welded thermoplastic joints
• DIN 53534: Plastics’ tensile strength per DIN 65378: Plastics’ tensile strength per DIN 65466: Plastics’ tensile properties

A variety of plastics can be tested using Flexural Testometric’s three- and four-point flexural fixtures. The spans and support structures of these devices are either adjustable or fixed, depending on the requirements.

• ISO Flexural Test Method 178
• ASTM D 790 plastics with good flexural characteristics
• ASTM D 790 Electrical insulators, plastics, and plastics with reinforcements are compared based on their flexural properties.
• ASTM D 4476: Rods made from fiber-reinforced pultruded plastic and their flexural properties
• ASTM D 6272: Four-point bending and flexural analysis of unreinforced and reinforced polymers
• “BS EN ISO 178” flexural property testing of plastics
• “BS EN ISO 178” flexibility characteristics analysis
• English National Standard ISO/IEC 899-2 Flexural creep determined by three-point loading DIN 53458 Plastics’ flexural characteristics

Testometric offers both pneumatic and manual fixtures for use in conducting tear tests on polymers. Calculations for the minimum, maximum, and average peel forces, etc., are all accounted for in specialized testing procedures. The criteria for peaks and the bounds within which they can be calculated can be specified in accordance with the following set of exclusive standards: 

• ISO 6383-1: Plastic sheet tear strength
• ISO 8067 and ASTM D 1004 tensile strength testing Plastic sheet ASTM D 1938 tear strength Single-tear ASTM D 3574 test for plastic sheet tear resistance Tensile Strength
• BS 2782-3-360 Plastic sheet tear strength

Several shear tests can be conducted with Shear Testometric’s assortment of fixtures. Interlaminar, flat-plane, and punch techniques are all included. All relevant calculations are integrated into WinTest.

• Shear test on the flat side of a sandwich (ASTM C 273) ASTM D 732 Testing polymers’ shear strength with a punch
• ASTM D 2344: Parallel fiber composites’ apparent inter-laminar shear strength determined by the short-beam technique

Compression

Compression plates come in a wide variety of sizes and load capacities. All forms of plastic, both raw and finished, can be tested. All relevant specifications are incorporated into the WinTest program.

• ASTM D 695: Rigid polymers’ compressive strengths
• ISO/TS 16951 Compressive strength (in metric) of inflexible polymers
• ASTM F 806 Laminate composite gasket materials’ compressibility and elasticity

Fiber-Reinforced Polymer

Precision grips, extensometers, fixtures, and software designed specifically for testing reinforced plastics are required. These instruments are crucial because of the great strength and low elongation of these materials. All of these items are available from Testometric, as is the company’s WinTest program, which does all necessary calculations in accordance with worldwide norms.

• ASTM D 2343: Glass fiber BS 2782-10 tensile characteristics for use in reinforced plastics Glass-reinforced plastics; plastics testing techniques; analysis of flexural strength; The Three-Step Approach
• BS 6319-2: Construction material testing involving resin and polymer/cement mixes: compressive strength
• BS EN 2562 Reinforced plastics made with carbon fiber; oriented laminates Flexural evaluation perpendicular to the fiber axis
• BS EN 2597 Reinforced plastics made with carbon fiber; oriented laminates Perpendicular to the direction of the fibers tensile test
• BS EN 2747: Materials with carbon fiber reinforcement—Tensile testing
• Standard: British and European ISO 527 Tensile property analysis of plastic composites reinforced with unidirectional fibers
• ISO 3597-3 Mechanical property testing of roving-reinforced resin rods and textile-glass -reinforced polymers Strength testing in compression
• Standard: British and European ISO 14126: Determination of in-plane compressive characteristics of fiber-reinforced plastic composites

Puncture

• Testometric offers a variety of manual pneumatic tightening and piercing test fixtures for plastic sheet and film materials.
• All relevant calculations are integrated into WinTest.
• Resistance of Flexible Barrier Films and Laminates to Penetration at a Slow Rate, ASTM F 130

Adhesion

It is possible to conduct peel tests on plastic laminates and similar materials using a wide variety of specialized apparatus. All relevant calculations, such as the minimum, average, and maximum peel force between the provided limits, are built into the WinTest software.

ASTM D 903 The ASTM F 88 Peel Test determines the seal strength of flexible barrier materials, which is what the ASTM D 1876 and D3167 Peel Tests do.

ASTM F 904: Examining the ply adhesion or bond strength of flexible laminates that are similar to one another

Temperature-simulated evaluation

Testometrics provides a variety of test chambers for conducting experiments in simulated working environments. Standard models operate between 0 and +300 °C and -70 and +300 °C, but custom sizes and temperature ranges are also on offer. High-temperature, contactless extensometers can be used in conjunction with the chambers.

 Extensometer Video

The video systems provided by Testometric are at the cutting edge of the elongation measurement industry. The systems are user-friendly and packed with useful extras. All plastic types have corresponding models that work well in environmental testing facilities.

Cutters, Specimen

Cutting dies made of hardened tool steel are also available, along with pneumatic and manual specimen cutters that conform to all relevant international standards (ISO, ASTM, BS, DIN, EN, etc.).

Software

Pre-configured calculations for plastic testing, including strain, UTS, E modulus, yield stress, flexural modulus, flexural stiffness, tear strength, shear strength, compressive strength, etc., are all part of Testometric’s comprehensive WinTest software. It’s simple to create and save test procedures for later use.