This article discusses the family characteristics, commercial forms, applications, resin grades, and mechanical and physical properties of traditional engineering thermoplastics in their neat (unmodified) form and as compounds and composites, namely, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrenes, acrylics, high-density polyethylenes, reinforced polypropylenes, high-impact polystyrenes, polyvinyl chloride, styrene-acrylonitriles, and styrene-maleic anhydrides.

This article is a compilation of abbreviations of terms, techniques, standards, compounds, and properties of materials that are relevant to the characterization and failure analysis of plastics.

This article discusses the properties, chemical structures, and applications of different types of elastomers grouped based on their resistance to aging (oxidative degradation), solvents, and temperature. These include butadiene rubber, natural rubber, isoprene rubber, chloroprene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, aerylonitrile-butadiene (nitrile) rubber, isobutylene-isoprene (butyl) rubber, ethylene-propylene (-diene) rubber, and silicone rubber. The article also provides an outline of the concerns related to the processing stages of rubbers or elastomers, including mixing or compounding, shaping, and vulcanizing or crosslinking.

This article is a compilation of abbreviations, symbols, and tradenames for terms related to the properties, selection, processing, and applications of the most widely used nonmetallic engineering materials.

This introductory article describes the various aspects of chemical structure that are important to an understanding of polymer properties and thus their eventual effect on the end-use performance of engineering plastics. The polymers covered include hydrocarbon polymers, carbon-chain polymers, heterochain polymers, and polymers containing aromatic rings. The article also includes some general information on the classification and naming of polymers and plastics. The most important properties of polymers, namely, thermal, mechanical, chemical, electrical, and optical properties, and the most significant influences of structure on those properties are then discussed. A variety of engineering thermoplastics, including some that are regarded as high-performance thermoplastics, are covered in this article. In addition, a few examples of commodity thermoplastics and biodegradable thermoplastics are presented for comparison. Finally, the properties and applications of six common thermosets are briefly considered.

This article is a comprehensive collection of tables that list the values for hardness of plastics, rubber, elastomers, and metals. The tables also list the tensile yield strength and tensile modulus of metals and plastics at room temperature. A comparison of various engineering materials, on the basis of tensile strength, is also provided.

There are many reasons why plastic materials should not be considered for an application. It is the responsibility of the design/materials engineer to recognize when the expected demands are outside of what the plastic can provide during the expected life-time of the product. This article reviews the numerous considerations that are equally important to help ensure that part failure does not occur. It provides a quick review of thermoplastic and thermoset plastics. The article focuses primarily on thermoset materials that at room temperature are below their glass transition temperature. It describes the motivation for material selection and the goal of the material selection process. The use of material datasheets for material selection as well as the processes involved in plastic material selection and post material selection is also covered.

Polymers offer a wide range of choices for medical applications because of their versatility in properties and processing. This article provides an overview of polymeric materials and the characteristics that make them a unique class of materials. It describes the ways to classify polymers, including the polymerization method, how the material deforms, or molecular origin or stability. The article contains tables that list common medical polymers used in medical devices. It explains the medical polymer selection criteria and regulatory aspects of materials selection failure analysis and prevention. Failure analysis and prevention processes to determine the root cause of failures that arise at different stages of the product life cycle are reviewed. The article describes the mechanisms of plastic product failure analysis. It discusses the trends in the use of medical polymers, such as high-performance polymers for implants, tissue engineering, and bioresorbable polymers.

This article is a comprehensive collection of engineering tables providing information on the mechanical properties of and the techniques for processing and characterizing polymeric materials, such as thermosets, thermoset-matrix unidirectional advanced composites, and unreinforced and carbon-and glass-reinforced engineering thermoplastics. Values are also provided for chemical resistance ratings for selected plastics and metals, and hardness of selected elastomers.

This article presents tools, techniques, and procedures that engineers and material scientists can use to investigate plastic part failures. It also provides a brief survey of polymer systems and the key properties that need to be measured during failure analysis. It describes the characterization of plastics by infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, thermomechanical analysis, and dynamic mechanical analysis. The article also discusses the use of X-ray diffraction for analyzing crystal phases and structures in solid materials.

This article briefly introduces some commonly used methods for mechanical testing. It describes the test methods and provides comparative data for the mechanical property tests. In addition, creep testing and dynamic mechanical analyses of viscoelastic plastics are also briefly described. The article discusses the processes involved in the short-term and long-term tensile testing of plastics. Information on the strength/modulus and deflection tests, impact toughness, hardness testing, and fatigue testing of plastics is also provided. The article describes tension testing of elastomers and fibers. It covers two basic methods to test the mechanical properties of fibers, namely the single-filament tension test and the tensile test of a yarn or a group of fibers.

The process of coating plastics with metals for functional purposes is called metallizing of plastics. This article discusses the metallizing of plastics, provides information on its history, and gives a short note on applications and adhesion properties of metallic coatings. It also discusses the selection of plastics for plating. This article also describes metallizing techniques, including plating (electrolytic or electroplating), vacuum metallizing and thermal spraying, and environmental considerations. The article discusses the quality assurance procedures for metallized plastic parts which include tests that assess the quality of the finish, coating thickness, adhesion, and corrosion resistance, and gives a short note on service performance, which includes service condition classifications.

This article discusses the thermal properties of engineering plastics and elastomers with respect to chemical composition, chain configuration, and base polymer conformation as determined by thermal analysis. It describes the processing of base polymers with or without additives and their response to chemical, physical, and mechanical stresses whether as an unfilled, shaped article or as a component of a composite structure. It summarizes the basic thermal properties of thermoplastics and thermosets, including thermal conductivity, temperature resistance, thermal expansion, specific heat, and glass transition temperature. It also provides information on polyimide and bismaleimide resin systems. Representative examples of different types of engineering thermoplastics are discussed primarily in terms of structure and thermal properties.

Polymer materials are key building blocks of the modern world, commonly used in packaging, automobiles, building materials, electronics, telecommunications, and many other industries. These commercial applications of polymeric materials would not be possible without the use of additives. This article is divided into five sections: mechanical property modifiers, physical property modifiers, biological function modifiers, processing aids, and colorants. It describes three classes of additives that are used to inhibit biological activity, six classes of mechanical property modifiers, three classes of physical property modifiers, and two classes of both colorants and processing aids.

This article addresses some established protocols for characterizing thermoplastics and whether they are homogeneous resins, alloyed, or blended compositions or highly modified thermoplastic composites. It begins with a discussion on characterizing mechanical, rheological, and thermal properties of polymer. This is followed by a section describing molecular weight determination using viscosity measurements. Next, the article discusses the use of cone and plate and parallel plate geometries in melt rheology. It then reviews the processes involved in the analysis of thermoplastic resins by chromatography. Finally, the article covers three operations of thermoanalysis, namely differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and thermomechanical testing.

Thermal analysis provides a powerful tool for researchers and engineers in determining both unknown and reproducible behavioral properties of polymer molecules. This article covers the thermal analysis and thermal properties of engineering plastics with respect to chemical composition, chain configuration, conformation of the base polymers, processing of the base polymers with or without additives; and the response to chemical, physical, and mechanical stresses of base polymers as unfilled, shaped articles or as components of composite structures. It also describes thermal analysis techniques, including differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, thermomechanical analysis, and rheological analysis. This article also summarizes the basic thermal properties used in the application of engineering plastics, such as thermal conductivity, temperature resistance, thermal expansion, specific heat, and the determination of glass transition temperatures. It concludes with a discussion of the thermal and related properties of nine thermostat resin systems divided into three groups by low, medium, and high service temperature capabilities.

Additives for plastics and elastomers are used to increase the ease of processing and to improve the properties of the final product. Additives improve processing characteristics by increasing lubricity and by stabilizing the polymer. Additives that improve properties include those that decrease static charge development and microbial activity and those that improve flame retardation characteristics, color, light stability, impact resistance, density and mechanical properties. This article focuses on the additives for polymers and elastomers that are used for improving processing--blowing agents, mold-release agents, lubricants, plasticizers, and heat stabilizers--and for improving properties antimicrobials, antioxidants, antistatic agents, colorants, fillers and fiber reinforcements, flame retardants, impact modifiers, light stabilizers, plasticizers, and heat stabilizers. Furthermore, it discusses the method for addition of these additives and the problems faced during compounding.