Effect of testing conditions on performance and durability of stabilisers in plastics

The accelerated thermal aging and weathering of stabilised plastics provides information on stabiliser efficiency and polymer durability more quickly than natural testing. This allows the monitoring of the material properties of plastics in the foreseen application environment and the development of new stabilisation formulations. The harshness of the testing method affects the individual processes involved regarding their activation energies and mechanisms, the physical relations in the polymer – stabiliser system, and the chemical and physical processes accounting for the consumption of stabilisers. The principal factors affecting any comparison of accelerated results with natural testing are outlined.