Plastics Testing

Mechanical Properties
 Mechanical properties
 Tensile properties
 Flexural properties
 Compressive properties
 Creep properties
 Stress relaxation
 Impact properties
 Shear strength
 Abrasion resistance
 Hardness tests
 Definitions
Stress – Strain Curve
• Plasticity:
Property which enables a material to deformed
continuously and permanently without rupture,
during the application of force that exceeds the yield
value of the material.
• Stress (σ):
Load (F) per unit area (A) of minimum original cross
section, carried out by test specimen at any moment.
(Unit Kg / cm2)
Stress (σ) = F /A
• Strain (ε):
Ratio of elongation (ΔL) to the gauge length (L0) of the test
specimen. (i.e.) Change in length on application of tensile
Load
L

L0
• Yield Point
A point on stress – strain curve at which an increase in strain
changes occur without an increase in stress.
• Yield strength: The stress at which a material exhibits a
special limiting deviation from the proportionality of stress to
strain.

• Necking
Localized reduction in cross section which may occurs in a
material under tensile stress.

• Proportional Limit
Greatest stress which a material is capable of sustaining
without any deviation from proportionality of stress-strain. In
Stress-Strain curve, the linear portion is called as Hookean
region. The material which shows this linear relationship in the
entire region of stress – strain are known as ideal elastic
materials.
• Poisson’s ratio
Ratio of transverse strain (contraction due to tensile
stress) to longitudinal strain (Elongation). It is a
measure of the reduction in the cross section
accompanying stretching.

• Resilience
Ratio of energy given upon recovery from
deformation to the energy required to produce the
deformation, some of the energy is dissipated as heat.
Resilience is usually measured by determining the
rebound of a pendulum or ball after a single impact.
Ultimate strength: The maximum unit stress a material withstand

subjected to an applied load in compression,

tension or shear
 Stresses
• Compression stress: Stress that acts to shorten an
object.
• Tension stress: Stress that acts to lengthen an object.
• Shear stress: Stress that acts parallel to a surface. It
causes an object to slide over another. It also tends to
deform originally rectangular objects into
parallelograms.
• Hydrostatic stress: Stress (usually compression) that
is uniform in all directions.
• Directed Stress: Stress that varies with direction.
• Stiffness
Stiffness of a plastic denotes its resistance to elastic
deformation under a low rate of loading

• Modulus of elasticity
Ratio of stress to corresponding strain below the
proportional limit of a material.

E

• Secant Modulus:
Ratio of stress to strain at any point on the stress –
strain curve (Kg/ cm2)
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Toughness

Hookean region – Elastic region

 Yield at point T
Break point
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Stress

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Failures of Stress – Strain curve
• The linear region is small for many
plastics, so difficult to calculate the
modulus.
• When additives like fillers or plasticizers
are added, the stress – strain curve varies
as a function of composition
• Stress – Strain curve varies with respect to
temperature.
 TENSILE STRENGTH

Test Method: ASTM D 638, DIN-53455, BS-2782 Method 301,

ISO-R-527, JIS-K-7113

Tensile strength is a measurement of the ability of a material to withstand forces

that tend to pull it apart and to determine to what extent the material stretches
before breaking.
Tensile strength = Force(load)/area

Elongation = Change in length / Original length

Significance:

Useful in quality control and for specification of plastic materials.

Useful for qualitative characterisation of plastic materials in research and

development.
 FACTORS AFFECTING TENSILE RESULTS

Specimen preparation:

• Injection moulded specimens will have higher value than the

compression specimen

• A load applied parallel to the direction of molecular orientation

may have higher values.

Rate of Straining:
• As the strain rate increased the tensile strength increased.

Temperature:
• As the temperature increases the tensile strength decreases
 FLEXURAL STRENGTH
Test Method: ASTM D 790, ISO-R-178, DIN-53452,
BS-2782 Method 302 D, JIS-K 7203

 Flexural strength is the ability of the material to withstand bending

forces applied perpendicular to its longitudinal axis.
 The stress induced due to flexural load are a combination of
compressive and tensile stress.

Significance:
 These test data are useful in ranking of plastic materials based on
bending characteristic.
 Useful in selection of suitable plastic material for designing a part
required for structural application
 Data indicating the stiffness of the material.

Specimen Size : 6.4 x 12.7 x 127.0 mm

 3FL
Flexural strength ( MPa) 
2bh 2

FL3
Flexural mod ulus (GPa) 
4bh 3Y
 Factors affecting the test results
Specimen Preparation

 The specimen with high degree of molecular

orientation perpendicular to the applied load will
show higher flexural values.

 The injection moulded specimens will have higher

flexural value than the compression moulded
specimen.

Temperature

 Higher the temperature lower the flexural values.

 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

Test Method: ASTM D 695, ISO-R-604, BS-2782

Method 303, DIN-53454, JIS-K 7208

 Compressive properties describe the behaviour of a

material when it is subjected to a compressive load at a
relatively low and uniform rate of loading.
 Compressive strength is a value that shows how much
force is needed to rupture or crush a material.
Force
Compressive strength = -----------------------
Cross sectional area
Specimen Size:
Rectangular blocks of 12.7 x 12.7 x 25.4 mm or
Cylinders of 12.7 mm dia and 25.4 mm long.
Specimen for Tensile test Specimen for flexural test Specimen for Compressive Specimen for Shear
test strength test
 IMPACT PROPERTIES
The impact properties of the polymeric
materials are directly related to the overall
toughness of the material.

 Toughness is defined as the ability of the

polymer to absorb applied energy.

 The area under the stress-strain curve is

directly proportional to the toughness of a
material.

 The impact resistance is the ability of a

material to resist breaking under a shock
loading.
 THE FOUR TYPES OF FAILURES
ENCOUNTERED DUE TO IMPACT LOAD

 Brittle Fracture - The product fractures

extensively without yielding.

 Slight Cracking - The product shows evidence

of slight cracking and yielding without losing
its shape.

 Yielding - The product yields showing

deformation and stress whitening.

 Ductile Failure - A definite yielding of material

along with cracking.
 IZOD IMPACT STRENGTH

Test Method: ASTM D 256, ISO-R-180, BS-2782

Method 306 A, DIN 53453, JIS-K 7110
The most widely used test for impact strength is the notched izod
impact test.
 In this test the pendulum arm swung from certain height is made to
impact on a notched cantilevered specimen.
 The loss of energy is measured in ft-lb/in or J/m or kg-cm/cm of
specimen thickness, is known as Izod impact strength.
 This test also be run with an unnotched specimen or with the notch
reversed, in which case it is reported as unnotched or notch reversed
Impact strength respectively.
Specimen size:
63.5 x 12.7 x 3.2 mm, Notch Depth : 2.54 mm, `V’
shaped
 CHARPY IMPACT STRENGTH

Test Method: ASTM D 6110, ISO-R-179, BS-2782

Method 306 B & 307
 Charpy impact is less common in US but is widely
used in Europe. The test is identical to Izod test
except that the specimen is a simply supported
beam that is impacted, midlong between the
supports.
Specimen Size: 12.7 x 6.4 x 127.0 mm
 SHEAR STRENGTH
ASTM D732  

The results are expressed as shear

strength and are given in the units of
MPa or psi. The shear strength is
calculated by dividing the force
required to shear the specimen by the
area of the sheared edge. The area of
the sheared edge is equal to the
circumference of the punch multiplied
by the thickness of the specimen.

The test is performed by clamping a test sample attached to a 1-inch punch between two
metal fixtures. A male punch is then forced through the hole in the metal fixture causing
shear along the edge of the hole. A universal testing machine is used to push the punch
until shearing of the specimen occurs.
 Specimen size: 50.8 mm dia disc.

Shear Strength = Force required to shear the

specimen/ Area of shear edge
 ABRASION RESISTANCE

Test Method: ASTM D 1044, ISO-9353, JIS-K 7204

Specimen size: 100 mm dia disc with 9 mm thickness
 Abrasion resistance is the ability to withstand the
progressive removal material from its surface as the result
of mechanical action of rubbing, scrapping or erosion.
 Resistance to abrasion is significantly affected by factors
such as test conditions, types of abradant.
 Most often measured by its loss in weight when abraded
with an abrasor.
Specimen: Round disc of 101.6 mm dia and 3.2 mm thick

Most tests are carried out at least 5000 revolutions.

Test results are reported as weight loss in mg/1000 cycles.
 HARDNESS TESTS
Hardness is defined as the resistance of a
material to deformation, particularly permanent
deformation by indentation or scratching.
 Two most commonly used hardness tests for
plastics are the Rockwell hardness test and the
Durometer hardness test
 Rockwell ASTM D 785, ISO-2039, JIS-K7202,
DIN-53426 hardness for relatively hard plastics
such as acetals, nylons, acrylics and
polystyrenes
 .Durometer ASTM D 2240, ISO-868, JIS-K 7215,
BS2782 Method 307 A and DIN 53505 hardness
for flexible PVC, rubbers, polyethylene &
polyurethane.
 FACTORS AFFECTING
TEST RESULTS
 Temperature and humidity:
Specimens tested at higher temperature tend to
indicate a lower value.

 Surface conditions of the specimen:

A smooth molded surface yields higher value.

 Fillers:
Hardness depends on type and amount of filler.

 Anisotropy:
Hardness vary in anisotropic material.
 CREEP PROPERTIES

 The phenomenon of deformation under load

with time is called creep.

 When a plastic material is subjected to a

constant load. It deforms quickly to a strain
roughly predicted by its stress-strain modulus
and then continues to deform slowly with time
definitely.
 Coefficient of friction
ASTM D1894

The ratio of the force required to move one surface over another to the total force applied normal to those
surfaces. Coefficient of friction values are related to the slip properties of films.

Static Coefficient of Friction (µs): Coefficient of friction at the instant motion between surfaces starts.
Kinetic Coefficient of Friction (µk): Coefficient of friction after motion between surfaces is established.

Testing is performed by sliding a plane beneath a block. The film specimen is attached to the
base of the block. The block is connected to a stationary gage which measures the frictional
force between the plane and the block.
The static coefficient of friction is calculated by: µ s = As / B
where As is the reading on the gage at the instant the block slips on the plane
and B is the weight of the block.
The kinetic coefficient of friction is calculated by: µ k = Ak / B
where Ak is the reading on the gage after motion between the block and plane is established
and B is the weight of the block.
 Tear strength
• The force required to tear a specified test specimen divided by the specimen
thickness.
• Tear strength = Force / Thickness of the film
Tear resistance of films