Survey of long-term durability testing of composites, adhesives and polymers.

Polymer, adhesives and composites are increasingly being used for applications where long-term or critical applications require the use of accelerated ageing regimes to ensure the serviceable life of product and components. A trend that is likely to continue for the foreseeable future due to progressive changes in material procurement strategies that require increased product lifetimes in increasingly harsh environments. As a consequence, there is growing demand on manufacturers to extend the life-time guarantees on products, particularly where inspection can be difficult or failure catastrophic. The following report summarises the degradation mechanisms found in polymeric materials, the accelerated test methods that have been developed and the techniques used for assessing life-time predictions. The results of an industrial survey to determine current practice and the future needs of industry for long-term testing are also presented. The report contains a summary of previous NPL publication on durability and current ISO and ASTM standards.

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