Polymer Technology Dictionary

Polymer Technology Dictionary

Polymer Technology Dictionary Tony Whelan MSC, Consultant Formerly Director London Polymer Consultants Ltd New Southgate, London, UK SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V

First edition 1994 1994 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht Originally published by Chapman & Hali in 1994 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1 st edition 1994 Typeset in 9/IOpt Times by Variorum Publishing Limited, Rugby Printed in Great Britain by St Edmundsbury Press Limited, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk ISBN 978-94-010-4564-3 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the UK Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may not be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction only in accordance with the terms of the licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK, or in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the appropriate Reproduction Rights Organization outside the UK. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the terms stated here should be sent to the publishers at the London address printed on this page. The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data Whelan, Tony. Polymer technology dictionary / Tony Whelan. ~ Ist ed. p. cm. ISBN 978-94-010-4564-3 ISBN 978-94-011-1292-5 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-011-1292-5 1. Plastics ~ Dictionaries. TPIIIO.w45 1993 668.9'03 ~ dc20 2. Polymers ~ Dictionaries. 1. Title. 93-18950 CIP 8 Printed on acid-free text paper, manufactured in accordance with ANSIINISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).

CONTENTS Preface. Notes to reader Dictionary Greek Numeric Alphabetic vii viii 1 2 7 Tables la. Standard (based on ISO and ASTM) abbreviations of plastics 491 1 b. Standard (based on ISO and ASTM) abbreviations of rubbers 492 2a. Letters used to modify abbreviations for plastics (ISO and ASTM). 493 2b. Commonly-used letters used to modify abbreviations for plastics (i.e. in addition to Table 2a). 493 2c. Symbols used for fillers and/or reinforcing materials. 493 3. Some commonly-used abbreviations and trade names of plastics and thermoplastic elastomers 494 4. Some abbreviations and names of plastics and elastomers 496 5a. Some trade names/trade marks, abbreviations and suppliers of polymers and polymer compounds, sorted by alphabetical order of trade name. 504 5b. Some trade names/trade marks, abbreviations and suppliers of polymers and polymer compounds, sorted by alphabetical order of abbreviation. 518 6. Drying conditions for injection moulding materials 532 7. Heat contents of some moulding materials 533 8. Shrinkage values 534 9. Relative densities of some compounding ingredients and other materials. 535 10. Plastics identification chart. 538 11. Suggested temperatures and loads for MFR tests 539 12. Moisture content limit for good injection mouldings. 539 13. Suggested temperature settings for high shear rate rheometry. 539 14. Moldflow data for PA 6 540 15. Carbon black classification 540 Appendices A. SI units - advice on use B. SI prefixes. C. Unit conversion D. Temperature conversion E. Relative atomic masses (atomic weights) F. The Greek alphabet 541 541 542 554 555 555 v

PREFACE For many years I have been actively involved in the testing, selection and processing of plastics materials. More recently I have specialized in teaching the subject of polymer technology to people employed in industry. As a result of this experience I realized that there was a need for a book, similar to Mark Alger's Polymer Science Dictionary, devoted to the technology of those polymers known as plastics and as rubbers. This is justified by the number of industries including adhesives, coatings, fibres, paints, plastics and rubbers which are based on polymer science and technology and the vast range of different industries which use plastics and rubbery materials. People who are extensively employed with the selection and use of plastics and rubbers, yet have limited training and experience of such materials should find this book particularly useful. Rather than simply providing a short definition for each term, I have adopted the approach used by Mark Alger in the complementary volume, Polymer Science Dictionary, which is to provide an explanation of what many of the terms mean together with necessary background information. Of course this means that many of the entries are longer than is usual in a conventional dictionary. There are also many terms included which are not specific to polymer technology but are valuable in this type of handbook. These include many entries on measurements and units which arise as a result of the scientific and technological communities using different systems as well as some polymer science terms. The information presented in this book is intended to give the reader a general overview of polymeric materials and their additives together with information on the processing, testing and properties of certain polymeric materials. The data presented in the Polymer Technology Dictionary does not imply any legally binding assurance of certain properties, ease of processing or suitability for a given purpose. The book is based on my knowledge and experience and represents my personal opinions. To the best of my knowledge the information is accurate; however I do not assume any responsibility whatsoever for the accuracy and completeness of such information. I strongly recommend that the user should seek out and adhere to manufacturers' and/or suppliers' detailed information and current instructions for the handling of each grade or type of material. Any determination of the suitability of a material for any use contemplated by the user, and the manner of processing is the sole responsibility of the user. There are many factors which affect the processing and properties of polymers, this book does not relieve the user from carrying out tests and experiments in order to satisfy themselves that a material is suitable for their chosen application. It is not suggested or guaranteed that any hazards outlined in this publication are the only ones which exist and before using any equipment, processing technique or material mentioned here, the user is responsible for ensuring that health and safety standards are met. Remember there is a need to reduce human exposure to many organic materials to the lowest possible limits, in view of possible long-term adverse affects. I am not responsible for ensuring that proprietary rights are not infringed or relevant legislation is observed. The book also includes some names which are, or are asserted to be proprietary trade names or trademarks. The use of such proprietary trade names or trademarks does not apply for legal purposes of a nonproprietary or general significance, nor is any other judgement implied concerning their legal status. Whilst every effort has been made to check the accuracy of the information contained in these volumes, no material should ever be selected and specified for a component or product on a paper exercise alone. The purpose of these volumes is to provide enough information for a short list of candidates for testing and to reduce the number of fruitless tests. No liability can be accepted for loss or damage resulting from the use of information contained herein. Thanks are due to my many friends and colleagues throughout the polymer industry for their useful help and advice. Tony Whelan London 1993 vii

NOTES TO READER The text was sorted electronically and although this gives the order that one would expect, there are some peculiarities which are worth mentioning. Look up any entry according to the first letter or number given. For example, I-butene and I-butylene should be looked up under I (one) in the numerical entry section. Greek letters also have their own separate entries and a Greek alphabet is listed at the end of the dictionary. Lower case letters are placed before upper case letters so that the letter a is filed before A. If either the lower case letter or the upper case letter is part of a word, or phrase, which contains numbers or symbols then these numbers or symbols influence how the entry is filed. All such numbers and symbols are given priority over letters of the alphabet: symbols include spaces, hyphens, oblique strokes (I), periods (full stops), and commas: these are sorted in the order listed. The entries for butene and butylene would be filed as follows but please bear in mind than many other entries appear in between these entries. I-butene 1 butene but-i-ene butene butene-l butene-type material butene type material butylene. Italicized wording that appears in entries throughout the dictionary indicates words or phrases which are cross-referenced to alternative entries for the reader's information. viii