Certification of the Melt Flow Index of a Polymeric Reference Material Based on a Proficiency Testing Scheme

In order to be comparable across borders and over time, measurements need be traceable to appropriate and stated references. This paper discusses a proposal of a certification process of a Reference Material (RM) developed by an accredited Brazilian Proficiency Testing (PT) provider and a polymers industry. The RM was prepared for a PT scheme, based on ISO/IEC 17043, and also followed the production requirements of ISO Guide 34. PT Scheme data were evaluated based on ISO 13528 and the certification process followed the Annex B of ISO GUIDE 35. The proposal presented in this paper was based on a certification of the melt flow index of a polymer. The results indicate that certification process was fit for the plastic company purpose and that the use of ANOVA was adequate to establish Certified Reference Material uncertainty.