ASTM D543-20 pdf free download.Standard Practices for Evaluating the Resistance of Plastics to Chemical Reagents.
1.1 These practices cover the evaluation of all plastic materials including cast, hot-molded, cold-molded, laminated resinous products, and sheet materials for resistance to chemical reagents.
1.2 Three procedures are presented. two under practice A (Immersion Test), and one under practice B (Mechanical Stress and Reagent Exposure under Standardized Conditions of Applied Strain). These practices include provisions for reporting changes in weight, dimensions, appearance, color, strength. and other mechanical properties. Standard reagents are specitied to establish results on a comparable basis without precluding the use of other chemical reagents pertinent to specific chemical resistance requirements. Provisions are made for various exposure times, stress conditions, and exposure to reagents at elevated temperatures. The type of conditioning (immersion or wet patch) depends upon the end-use of the material. If the material is used as a container or transfer line, immersion of the specimens is used. If the material will only see short exposures or will be used in proximity and reagent will splash or spill on the material, the wet patch method of applying reagent to the material is used.
4.2 Correlation of test results with the actual performance or serviceability of plastics is necessarily dependent upon the similarity between the testing and the end-use conditions. For applications involving continuous immcrsion, the data obtained in short-time tests are of interest only in eliminating the most unsuitable materials or indicating a probable relative order of resistance to chemical reagents.
4.3 Evaluation of plastics for special applications involving corrosive conditions shall be based UOfl the particular reagents and concentrations to be encountered. Base the selection of test conditions on the manner and duration of contact with reagents, the temperature of the system, applied stress, and other performance factors involved in the particular application.
4.4 The practices present general guidelines without covering specifics on all the varied applications of plastics, such as use in automobiles and exposure to various automotive fluids, or use in hospital environments with exposure to disinfectants and cleaning fluids. These practices can be extended to such applications with specifics on the study conducted noted in the report.
4.5 The use of appropriate controls is critical to evaluate the utility of the information generated by these practices. Particular attention should be given to the variability in the data generated, especially for the baseline controls, and issues in data generation reported to mitigate misuse of infornuition.ASTM D543 pdf download.