Appl. Chem. Eng., Vol. 28, No.

1, February 2017, 35-41

Article

https://doi.org/10.14478/ace.2016.1097

Retroreflective Sheet Solar UVA Study on Life Prediction Usingof

Chang-Hwan Kim†wook Han⋅Gun-*⋅ Jin-⋅ Tae-jin Kim**ok Kim***

Korea environment & Merchandise testing Institute building outdoor demonstration testcenter, *research instituteMax
reflow **TorayChemical, ***Korea Polytechnic University 2016, (October 25,accepted,2016 November 30th,review,2016
12on May 19Adopted)

A Study of Lifetime Prediction by Applying Solar UV Program of Retro-reflection

Sheet Chang-Hwan Kim†, Jin-Wook Han*, Tae-Jin Kim**, and Gun-Ok Kim***

Weathering Technology Assessment Center, Korea Conformity Laboratories, Seosan-si Chungcheongnam-do 31900, Korea
*REFLOMAX CO., LTD. Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do 18525, Korea
**TORAY Chemical lnc, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do 17527, Korea
***Korea Polytechnic College, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do 17550, Korea
(Received October 25, 2016; Revised November 30, 2016; Accepted December

secondrock
material exposed to theoutside the UVlight, heat, temperature, and occur a variety of environmental factors on the
degradation by such humidityand predictions for the degradation rate and the service life is very It is an important issue. In
this study, thewhiteamong the most commonly used colors.and Arizonawithgreen retroreflective sheets, India, Chennai,,
France, and, includingSeosanKorea 4reflective performance of the retroreflective sheet was carried out through outdoor
exposure tests and xenon arc promotion tests inregionsThe rate of change of was measured. The acceleration coefficient
was calculated using regression analysis through the reflection performance values obtained through the Seosan area
and Xenon arc acceleration test. In addition, the solar uv program was used to obtain acceleration coefficients for various
climate regionsacceleration coefficients,, and as a result, based on the Seosan regiontheof French Senary 1.04times,
Arizona 1.82times, and, ChennaiIndia 1.92times were confirmed.

Abstract
Materials exposed to outside will deteriorate due to various weathering factors such as sunlight, heat, temperature, humidity and so
on. Therefore, predicting speed of degradation and life time is a very important issue. This research uses retro-re flective sheets with
white and green which are most commonly used colors to conduct the outdoor exposure test and accel eration test of xenon arc in
Arizona state in the United States, Chennai in India, Sanary in France and Seosan in Korea to measure the reflective performance of
retro-reflection. The accelerated factor was obtained by using regression analysis through reflective values obtained from the
acceleration test of xenon arc from Seosan area. Also, by using solar uv program, the accelerated factor of various climate regions
were obtained and it was confirmed that the accelerated factor of Senary was 1.04, Arizona 1.82, Chennai 1.92 times higher than that
of Seosan.

Keywords: retro-reflection, weathering, solar uv, accelerated factor, regression analysis

1. Introduction long period of time reflecting theperformance, contact

1) The

retroreflective sheet is a recursion in which incident light is † Corresponding Author: Weathering Technology Assessment Centerre.kr
reflectedcharacteristic pattern(Bead, Prism) within aand returns to pISSN: 1225-0112 eISSN: 2288-4505 @ 2017 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering
Chemistry. All rights reserved.
the incident direction. A sheet made using the reflective principle.
lowering strengthand Various failure phenomena such asflooding
usually a roadroadcan be seen/There isthat retroreflective sheet
occur. However, infor evaluating the behavior of this failure
applied totraffic signsabove, night driving when the
phenomenon ASTM D 4956, the 2200 h reflectivity isafter 80%
vehicle(light/headlamp),the light light emitted from the
criteriaare specified as a judgment of pass if theor morebut, the
sign(retroreflectivesheet)language being reflected by theback to
results of the actual acceleration test are correlated under field
the vehicle(light/It usesdriver) the phenomenon of returning
use conditions.
toward the. These signs are being exposed to the outdoors for a
 It is often used without knowing its service life. In addition, field
data is very important because failure phenomena are different
according to various climate regions. the United 3MInStates,
10more thanyears to secure local field data of a long time toopen,
light, temperature, wasapply the fault factors such as humidity,
perform life prediction and there to[1], on the demand of
enterprise based on these field results Itmeeting the needs
36 Chang-Hwan Kim, Jin-wook Han, Tae-jin Kim, Gun-ok Kim1.Natural
TableWeathering Testing Site
Latitude 36°55' North 12°35' North 43°08' North 33°54' North Longitude 126°21' West 79°48' East 5°49' East 112°08' West Elevation 6.5 m 45
m 110 m 610 m
Average Temp 11.8 °C 28 °C 13 °C 22 °C Avg. Relative Humidity 75.4% 72% 64% 37% Total Rain 1235 mm 1252 mm 700 mm 255 mm Total
Fi
gure 1. Section of retro-reflection.
It will be important. Germany Wuppertal atUniversity in JJ Baekand air layer Is formed. A permanent adhesive type adhesive is used
KG Leedeveloped a reliability prediction program using field
failures tonewa parameter estimation to find a life distribution
function suitable for failure data. GWPE (Graphic Wizard Parameters
Estimation)visually check its accuracy using aasThere were
offersconvenience,in the meantime, if the failure by the reliability
evaluation and prediction data as the foundation flying program
but using a lot of expensive abroadprograms, the development
program as the default can change for each sector that utilize the
range is more varied It is expected to do[2].
This studyvariety of climatic region field was based on the data
generated by the acceleration factor through regression analysis
with the xenon acceleratedtest, designed apromotion based on
the calculated acceleration factor reflecting the local climate
characteristics weather resistancetest, from which the exact
regioncan predict the photo-deterioration life so-lar uv
Acceleration coefficients for various regions around the world
could be calculated using theprogram that[3].
2. Experiment
global market through 80% occupies more thanof the. In most the
demandindoor accelerated testrather than outdoor exposure test
in order to obtain data in a short(Xenon, UVlight,
carbon,etc.)companies,butand proceed with thetime, there is a
language difficult part hagieneun implement the various factors
that may arise in thefield. That is why securing data through field
tests is more than anything else
35
Seosan, Korea Chennai, India Sanary, France Arizona, USA
Radiant Exposure 4,700 MJ 6,760 MJ 5,500 MJ 8,004 MJ
2.1. Materials
The retroreflective sheet used in this study is largely top film,
backing filmand pressure sensitive adhesive divided into three
types:. The top film isof PMMA (Poly methyl methacrylate) film and
PC (Polycarbonate) composedfilm, and is the main part involved in
the reflection of the retroreflective sheet for signs. Backing film is
coated with PC (Polycarbonate) film andexcellent adhesion
hotmeltwithon white PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) to seal in a
unique shape using the sealing pattern rate with the lowest
retroreflective performance degradation. At this time, the sealed
to adhere the retroreflective sheet molded up to the above step to
the sign. The retroreflective sheet color was white, green, and
yellowselected as.
2.2. Outdoor exposure(Natural weathering)
Investigate changes over time in physical and chemical properties
by direct exposure to the natural environment
(a) Seosan (South Korea) (b) Chennai (India)
(
c) Sanary (France) (d) Arizona (USA)
Figure 2. Outdoor exposure site of 4 regions.
Outdoor exposure test South Korea areas,Seosan, Chennai,India,
France, three NourishingUSA ah Rizzo or fourwasconducted by
selectedthe evaluation period is slightly different because it is
 different from the ultraviolet energy that receives every
butarea,60, 120, 180, 240, 300, 360, 420, 480, 540,600 MJ / mwas set
to2. Since the angle of exposure is different in each region, the
exposure angle wasSeosan 37° in,, IndiaChennaiSenary in 12° in,
FranceFrance , 43° in, and Arizona in the United States 33°in, and
the disclosure periodin Decemberbegan.
Looking at the world climate map, you can see that there are
many different types of climate. These various climatesof latitude,
weather patterns, topographicaland appear differently due to a
combinationgeographical features. For road sign retroreflective
sheets, since ultraviolet rays, temperature, and moisture affect
the aging of materials, the outdoor exposure site was decided
based on the climate environment and taking into account the
overseas exporting countries of the retroreflective sheet.
industrialchemicals, the 28 1 No., 2017
Table 2. Reflective After Natural Weathering Testing
Color White Green Color White Green OA/EA 0.2°/30° 0.2°/30° OA/EA 0.2°/30 ° 0.2°/30°
6032.5 120 MJ 233.9 47.3260.8
MJ 251.8120 MJ 263.7 41.5 180 MJ42.6
37.5 300 MJ 252.4 43.8 360 MJ 256.7 29.4 (a) Seosan, Korea (b) Chennai, India
OA/EA 0.2°/30° 0.2°/30°
Color White Green Color White Green
ASTM D4956 85% 144.5 21.25 60 MJ42.0
60 MJ 231.1 34.8258.4
180 MJ 264.8 49.0 240 MJ 255.1 39.6
300 MJ 265.7 38.1 360 MJ 299.0 34.5
Table 3.Reflectiv e After Xenon-arc Test
Irradiance (KJ/m2)White Green 0.2°/30° 0.2°/30°
040.7
287.5500 378.5 46
1000 297.5 37.85
2000 322 42.35
2500 347.5 41.3
3000 356.5 38.45
3500 405 38.35
4000 312.5 34.1
4500307.5 33.5
5000 306.5 32
4700 MJThe lowest was.
On the other hand, relative humidity wasSeosan, Korea at
75.4%the highest in,and rainfall was also measured in Seosan,
1235 mm,Chennai, India 1252 mm insimilar to.
2.3. Indoor acceleration(Xenon-Arc) TheXenon-Arc of
indoor acceleration test isUSA ATLASan acceleration test
using, CI 4000 to theusing themodel ASTM D 4956and was
conducted accordingstandard,. The evaluation cycle was 500,
1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000,3500, 4000, 4500, 5000 KJwas set to
2.4. Reflection performance measurements
reflecting performance US ROADVISTA's 940D photometric
TheWorld Meteorological Organi- zation (WMO)has established
seven major climates on the planet, among which the desert
climate zone(Arizona), the hot and humid zone(Chennai), the
Mediterraneanzone (Senary), and the climatemaritime
climate(Seosan). Outdoor exposure was conducted by setting
regions in various climatic environments such asand, climate
characteristics for each region are as follows.
For climate data byin the United States ATLASregion,
reference was made to global outdoor site information provided
by[4]. Each region the average temperature Indian chenna lice
28highest in℃, Korea Seosan area is 11.8 lowest with℃, total
solar radiation is the United Statesin Arizona was
8004wasthehighest inMJ, Xishan area is
Retroreflective Sheet Solar UVA Study on Life Prediction ofApplying 37
ASTM D4956 85% 144.5 21.25
ASTM D4956 85% 144.5 21.25
60 MJ 291.5 40.5
180 MJ 230.0 36.1 240 MJ 239.4 32.4
240 MJ 282.5 33.6 300 MJ 255.9
OA/EA 0.2°/30 ° 0.2°/30° ASTM D4956 85% 144.5 21.25
MJ 216.5180 MJ 311.9 36.2
12033.3 120 MJ 292.4 43.3 240 MJ 276.1 43.1
300 MJ 254.2 38.8
420 MJ 280.7 36.7 (c) Sanary, France (d) Arizona,
USA
rangesystem wasusing themeasurementby evaluating the
deterioration of sample surface each cycle according to the
outdoor exposure and the indoor accelerated testmethod, the
measured angle 0.2 ° / 30is°.
2.5. Solar UV analysis
ABNEXOKorea's solar uv usingprogramvarious regions
(Seosan,SouthKorea, IndiaChennai, three FrenchNourishing,
Arizona) yieldedaccelerationfactor.
Solar uvmayglobal valid ultraviolet regionutilizing
climate(effective uv)to estimate thefactors, designedan
accelerated weathering test and climatic characteristics
reflectedtherefrom beto predict accurate local optical deterioration
lifespan[3].
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Outdoor exposure(Natural weathering) after reflecting the
performance
of each local outdoor exposure is cumulative UV energy Seosan
three Nourishing is 300 MJ, Chennai 360 MJ, Arizona 420measure
the reflection performance by up toMJ. per region 300 MJThe
cumulative amount of UV energy of 1means an exposure period
of at leastyear. The evaluation cycleintomeasure 60 MJwas
dividedtothe reflective performance, andin general, itaboutcase of
Seosan 2-3takesmonths in the.
 3.2. indoor acceleration(Xenon-arc) Reflective performance after correlation between the accelerated life test usingtesterand the
thefor the retroreflective sheet xenon arc To find out the actual life, the evaluation cycle is 500 KJevery 5,000

Appl. Chem. Eng., Vol. 28, No. 1, 2017

38 Changhwan Kim, Jinwook Han, Taejin Kim, Gunok Kim4.Field

TableData & Accelerated Data for Accelerated Factor & Life Time

Time (h) Retro-reflectance (%) Accelerated factor Life time (year) At 15000 h

White AF (K) = a'/a acceleration test

544 297.5 0.19
4951 h 2448 307.5 0.85
K = 3.03
2720 306.5 0.94

Time (h) Retro-reflectance (%) Accelerated factor Life time (year) At 15,000 h
272 46 0.05

Green AF(K) = a'/a acceleration test 9202 h

1088 42.35 0.20 1360 41.3 0.25 1632 38.45 0.30 K = 1.63
1904 38.35 0.35 2176 34.1 0.41 2448 33.5 0.46 2720 32
0.51

a) Field test

b) Accelerated test
Figure 3.Field & accelerated of regression analysis.

KJReflective performance was measured up to. In general, more
severe test conditions can be set in the acceleration tester, butthe
acceleration coefficient increases, so the life expectancy can be
predicted in a shorter time, but the correlation is poor, so the
acceleration setting was not set over a certain amount. In
general, the, a testapplied to reflective sheets ASTM
D4956irradiance ofbased onstandard 0.51 W/m2was exposed.
3.3. Calculationthe acceleration factor using the regression
ofregression analysis was calculated acceleration factor after
inducing the model formula based on the existing field
measurementdata, the method regression analysis used in the
modeling are independent variables(theelapsedtime)as the
dependent variable(reflectionperformance)iseach at aand
theonetime,and a relatively linear relationshiprelationship
betweenthese(linearfunction),Since itwere simple regression
analysisused(simple re gression analysis) [5-6
In general, field tests areas temperature, humidity, insolation,
acid rain, stressed by meteorological environmental factors
suchproportional salinity, andnaturally and anthropogenic falling
 dust, ozone sulfate, hydrogen sulfide, and environmental pollution
factors such asnitrogen dioxide. On the other hand, the
accelerated test is difficult to simulate all environmental factors in
the natural environment identically to the natural environment,
butthe xenon-arc testlight, temperature, and artificially
stresseshumidity. Thereforecan be repeated in a certain cyclebut
in,, in terms of reproducibilitythe case of the field test, it is difficult
IndustrialChemistry, of claim 28 No.1, 2017
ofretroreflective sheet Solar UVtheA study on the applied life expectancy 39
Figure 4. Site position on worldwide uv map (Green; chennai,
Blue; arizona, Red; seosan, Sky blue; sanary).
After measuring the conversion rate, the regression line was
obtained. The accelerated test showed 97% confidence level,
andthe field test showed 84% confidence level.
The acceleration coefficient of the reflective performance
change rate for the retroreflective sheet was calculated from the
regression line obtained from the field data and the accelerated
test data, and the respective accelerated life test time and field
life were predicted. In addition, in the field 15000 hthe
acceleration test time was calculated at. Inwhite the case ofcolor,
the acceleration coefficient is about 3times, and the field life
expectancy ison 2720 h aboutbased 0.94estimated to beyears.
Ingreen the case of thecolor, the acceleration coefficient is about
1.63times, and the field life expectancy is estimated to beon 2720
h aboutbased 0.51years. The reason why the life expectancy time
differs depending on the color is that the absorption rate and
reflectance of radiant energy are different according to the color
of the retroreflective sheet, so it is judged that the acceleration
coefficient is different.
to secure reproducibility because it is in contact with various
environmental factors., the acceleration testThere is.
Accelerated test using the xenon is 5000 KJ, field test
threeservicecompared to the initial reflectance performance by
collecting the passed sign retroreflective sheet samples for the
road toyears
3.4.solar uvCalculation of regional acceleration coefficient using
Figure 4showsof theaccording to latitude uvthe
intensityeffectand analysislocation of the selected region data
accordingto the.
From this graph, uveffect isnorth latitude than at the equator
15° it can be seen that thegreatest around.
Figure 5shows the annual temperature,for the selected region
BPT (Black Panel Temperature), and uv intensity. Tairairis thethe area,
and BPTefftemperature inis the black panel temperature.Solar uv
The climate data results obtained through theprogram
differactual ATLASfrom theglobal outdoor site local information
provided by.TairIn the case ofis the Seosan area -5.5 ℃, Chennai
-2 ℃, Ari zona -2.7 ℃, three Nourishing -3.1 showed adifference
℃.
Solar uv programs
onsixcontinents,160countries,3900Region(city)Weatherproof
climatic factors for databasing byclimate for the region within the
epigenetic tests to target the world's regionsdatabases, test
conditions, optimizingsimulation, weathering overlife expectancyIt
is a program that allows test design. The calculation method is
possible in the following way.
 1. Climate data utilization calculation(performedthe input
inarea3900) in advance to take advantage of the climate data
of the input area calculation - activation energy of
degradation of the material(Ea)you have entered all the
calculations automatically pre-degradation of the activation
energy range value input selectable choice of accelerated
weathering test conditions can be
2. effectiveUV estimation algorithm
calculation(doneEverywhere)- latest local air
temperature(annualaverage) reflect recent climate change in
input-degradation activation energy(Ea)is a specified range
Only available - Optimal BPT estimation and monthly
climate factor change graphs are unavailable.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Figure 5. Graphical data of (a) seosan (b) chennai (c) arizona (d)
sanary.
In this study,Seosan in Korea, Chennai in India, Arizona in the
US, and geographic informationMarseille in France, climate
information, and estimation results ofwere confirmed. In the
estimation results, the uv exposure time (hours)is ASTM 4956 test
standard onethe time required to simulateyear according to the,
and is necessary to estimate the acceleration factor.
Acceleration coefficient estimates ratioof the reference area and
the relative area as high jeongha the area which the relative,
because the reference that if a light deterioration acceleration
factor of the rest estimated what extent in comparison to
the(rate)werecalculated by theregion, the reference region Was
selected as Seosan.
Xishan area is based on the acceleration factorChennai, of
1.92India, the United States, Arizona

Appl. Chem. Eng., Vol. 28, No. 1, 2017

40 Changhwan Kim, Jinwook Han, Taejin Kim, Gunok Kim

Table 5. Accelerated Factor of 4 Site Using Solar UV

Automatic Site 1 Site 2 Site 3 Site 4 Continent Asia Asia North&Central Europe
Nation Korea India USA France
Geographic information City Seosan Madras Phoenix AZ Marseille Latitude 36.780 13.000 33.430 43.450
Longitude 126.450 80.180 112.020 5.230 Solar radiation (Annual global radiation,
MJ/m2) 5445 6868 7016 5708 UVnat (Annual uv radiation, MJ/m2) 336 478 446 343
Tair (Annual average ambient temperature, ℃) 17.3 30.0 24.7 16.1 Precipitation
(Annual precipitation, mm) 1353 1233 230 853 Relative humidity (Yearly average,
Climate %) 62 68 36 65
information
HH WD WH
Test condition (HH, HD, WH, WD) WH ( Hot, Humidity) (Worm, Dry) (Worm, Humidity)
(Worm, Humidity)

Estimation result Seosan, Korea Chennai, India Arizona, USA Sanary, France 0. 2°/30°
Ea (kcal/mol) 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 BPTeff (Effective BPT, ℃) 29.2 41.9 39.5 29.6 UVeff
AF 15000 h AF 15000 h AF 15000 h AF 15000 h
(Effective uv, MJ/m2) 145 278 252 150 UV exposure time (hours) 707 1355 1228
731
White 3.03 4951 5.82 2577 5.51 2722 3.15 4762 Green 1.63 9202 3.13 4792 2.97 5050 1.69 8876

1.82timesand French Senary 1.04times. If the sensitivity of the 4. Conclusion In

material to photodeterioration is unknown, it is ideal to select a
medium value, but, if knowna precise test can be performed by
selecting a value.
 this study, the following conclusions were obtained by
obtaining the acceleration coefficient through the acceleration
test using xenon and natural aging of the retroreflective sheet for
road signs.
First, field measurement ifof the data and the acceleration field
test conducted after the regression of measuring a reflectance
performance rate of change based on the measurement data
using the 97% showed aconfidence leveltest, for accelerated
testing 84%the level of confidence ofI confirmed it.
Second, each accelerated life test time and field life were
predicted from the regression line obtained from field data and
accelerated test data. Inwhite the case ofcolor, the acceleration
coefficient is about threetimes, and the field life expectancy ison
2720 h aboutbased 0.94estimated to beyears. Ingreen the case
ofcolor, the acceleration coefficient is about 1.63times, and the
field life expectancy ison 2720 h aboutbased 0.51estimated to
beyears. The reason why the lifetime prediction time differs
depending on the color is believed to be because the radiant
energy absorption rate and reflectance are different according to
the color.
Third, used in this solar uv the local acceleration factor
utilizingprogramstudywas calculated by the ratio of the reference
area and the relativearea, and the area on the basis Nishiyama
Chennai, India is 278/145 = 1.92, Arizona is 252/145 = 1.82, French
Senary150/145 = 1.04was able to obtain the acceleration
coefficient as.
theFourth, field test(NishiyamaArea)and an acceleration
test(xenon)= regression analysis(acceleratingfactor)×solar
uvviavarious local accelerating factors utilizing was available for
the speed factor, such as the followingtables, in the field
Industrial and EngineeringChemistry, 28 Volume No.1, 2017
41 2. J. Back and K. Rhie, Korean Soc. Automot. Eng., 20, 1-7 (2012).
3. DJ Byun, WEESUR, Global exposure models for plastics material.
International Workshop on Automotive Weathering
Evaluation/Technology, April 1-40, Korea (2013).
4. Matthew McGreer, Weathering Testing Guidebook, 19-22, USA
(2003).
15,000h(Recursivefield test period required by the Indian market,
the reflectiveIt could get an accelerated testing time for thesheet).
used in this Solar uv programstudy fourtheoptimal temperature
and annualcompared to the actual weather conditions and
laboratory conditions of the regions uvradiationdose, the
effectiveultraviolet,uvto estimate exposure timewere able to
predict the life of thematerial. In other words, it isa preciselythat
reflects the deterioration characteristics of each material and the
climatic characteristics of each region, away from the
standardized standard test due to the arbitrary conditions that do
not reflect the deterioration characteristics of the material and the
local climatic conditions targeteda design guide program
foraccelerated weathering test.. In the future, it is expected that
the optimal accelerated weathering test conditions for the
reproduction of photo-deterioration in the relevant region by
various materials will be presented, from which the accurate
region-specific photo-deterioration life is predicted.
Audit
This research is ain 2014 withMinistry of Trade, Industry and
EnergyKorea Industrial Technology Promotion Agency
(KIAT)research project for the reliability technology diffusion
project conducted by thethe support of the.
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