ISO 22088-5 Plastics - Determination of Resistance to Environmental Stress Cracking (ESC) - Constant Tensile Deformation Method

EUROLAB, with its state-of-the-art accredited laboratories and expert team, offers precise and rapid testing services within the scope of ISO 22088-5 testing. ISO 22088-5 specifies a method for determining the environmental stress cracking (ESC) behavior of thermoplastics when subjected to a constant tensile deformation in the presence of a chemical environment.

It can be applied to test specimens prepared by molding or machining and can be used to evaluate the ESC behavior of plastic materials exposed to different environments, as well as to determine the ESC behavior of different plastic materials exposed to a specific environment.

This is essentially a ranking test and is not intended to provide data to be used for design or performance prediction. Alternative methods for determining environmental stress cracking through constant strain testing are specified in ISO 22088-3 and ISO 22088-4. A method for determining circumferential stress cracking by means of a constant tensile load is specified in ISO 22088-2.

A sample held at a constant deformation is exposed to a selected chemical environment at a selected test temperature. The deformation is produced by an initial tensile force that is less than that at the yield point (or at the fracture point if the material does not show a yield point) and is held in place by a device such as a worm gear.

The environmental stress cracking behavior of the test specimen is evaluated by comparing the critical stress in a selected chemical environment with the critical stress of the same material in air. Comparing the shape of the stress relaxation curve obtained after applying an initial stress in a selected chemical medium to the shape of the stress relaxation curve obtained when the same initial stress is applied in air is also an important part of the evaluation.

Critical stress can be used as an index for ESC. For example, if the critical stress achieved in a particular chemical environment is less than that in air, the material is considered to be affected by the chemical environment. In addition, it is possible to quantify the degree of ESC as the difference between the critical stress in air and the critical stress in the chemical environment.

EUROLAB assists manufacturers with ISO 22088-5 test compliance. Our test experts, with their professional working mission and principles, provide you, our manufacturers and suppliers, the best service and controlled testing process in our laboratories. Thanks to these services, businesses receive more effective, high-performance and quality testing services and provide safe, fast and uninterrupted service to their customers.