ASTM D543-20 Standard Practices for Evaluating the Resistance of Plastics to Chemical Reagents

Published by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the ASTM D543-20 standard offers applications that involve evaluating all plastic materials for resistance to chemical reagents, including cast, hot molded, cold molded, laminated resin products and sheet materials. The full name of this standard is as follows: ASTM D543-20 Standard practices for evaluating the resistance of plastics to chemical reagents.

The results obtained from the applications in the said standard have some limitations. The choice of reagent types and concentrations, the duration of immersion or stress, or both, the stress level, the temperature of the test and the properties to be reported are optional. The properties of these conditions provide a basis for standardization and serve as a guide for researchers wishing to compare the relative resistance of various plastics to chemical reagents.

In this standard, three test methods are presented, namely, two dip tests in application A and test under the standard conditions of applied stress in application B, mechanical stress and exposure to reagent. These test methods contain provisions for changes in weight, dimensions, appearance, color, strength, and other mechanical properties.

The effects of chemical reagents on properties are determined by making measurements on standard samples for such tests or both before and after immersion or stress.

The standard does not claim to address all of them if there are security concerns regarding its use. To establish appropriate safety, health and environmental practices and to determine the applicability of the restrictions in legal regulations before use, It is the responsibility of businesses using this standard.

ISO 175 Plastics developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) - Determination of the effects when immersed in liquid chemicals - Test methods and TS EN ISO 22088-3 Plastics - Determination of resistance to environmental stress cracking (WGC) - Part 3: Twisted strip method standards, ASTM D543 It addressed the same issue with the A and B applications in the -20 standard. However, the technical content differs somewhat and the results cannot be directly compared.

With the experience gained over many years, our organization also provides standard application services to the demanding enterprises, within the framework of laboratory services of the materials with a trained and expert staff, to evaluate the resistance of ASTM D543-20 plastics to chemical reagents.