ASTM D6360-99

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Designation: D 6360 – 99
Standard Practice for
Enclosed Carbon-Arc Exposures of Plastics
This standard is issued under the fixed designation D6360; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision.Anumber in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.A
superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
1. Scope E691 Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Study to
Determine the Precision of a Test Method
1.1 This practice covers specific procedures and test condi-
G 23 Practice for Operating Light-Exposure Apparatus
tions that are applicable for exposure of plastics in enclosed
(Carbon-Arc Type) With and Without Water for Exposure
carbon-arc devices conducted in accordance with Practices
of Nonmetallic Materials
G151 and G153. This practice also covers the preparation of
G 113 Terminology Relating to Natural and Artificial
test specimens, the test conditions suited for plastics, and the
Weathering Tests of Nonmetallic Materials
evaluation of test results.
G141 GuideforAddressingVariabilityinExposureTesting
NOTE 1—Enclosed carbon-arc exposures are described in Practice 5
on Nonmetallic Materials
G23, which described very specific equipment designs. Practice G23 is
G147 Practice for Conditioning and Handling of Nonme-
being replaced by Practice G151, which describes performance criteria
tallicMaterialsforNaturalandArtificialWeatheringTests
for all exposure devices that use laboratory light sources, and by Practice
G151 Practice for Exposing Nonmetallic Materials in Ac-
G153, which gives requirements for exposing nonmetallic materials in
enclosedcarbon-arcdevices.PracticeG23willbeballotedforwithdrawal celerated Test Devices That Use Laboratory Light
before December 2000.
Sources
G 152 Practice for Operating Open-Flame Carbon-Arc
1.2 This practice does not cover filtered open-flame carbon-
Light Apparatus for Exposure of Nonmetallic Materials
arc exposures of plastics, which are covered in Practice
G153 Practice for Operating Enclosed Carbon-Arc Light
D1499. Practice D5031 describes enclosed carbon-arc expo-
Apparatus for Exposure of Nonmetallic Materials
sures of paints and related coatings.
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the
3. Terminology
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the
3.1 The definitions in Terminology G113 are applicable to
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-
this practice.
priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-
bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.
4. Significance and Use
NOTE 2—This practice is not equivalent to any ISO practice for
4.1 The ability of a plastic material to resist deterioration of
laboratory accelerated exposures of plastics.
its electrical, mechanical, and optical properties caused by
exposure to light, heat, and water can be very significant for
2. Referenced Documents
manyapplications.Thispracticeisintendedtoinduceproperty
2.1 ASTM Standards:
changes associated with end-use conditions, including the
D1499 Practice for Operating Light- and Water-Exposure
effects of sunlight, moisture, and heat. The exposure used in
Apparatus (Carbon-Arc Type) for Exposure of Plastics
thispracticeisnotintendedtosimulatethedeteriorationcaused
D3980 Practice for Interlaboratory Testing of Paint and
by localized weather phenomena such as atmospheric pollu-
Related Materials
tion, biological attack, and saltwater exposure.
D5031 PracticeforConductingTestsonPaintsandRelated
NOTE 3—Caution:Variation in results may be expected when operat-
CoatingsandMaterialsUsingEnclosedCarbon-ArcLight-
ing conditions are varied within the accepted limits of this practice;
and Water-Exposure Apparatus
therefore, no reference to the use of this practice shall be made unless
D5870 Practice for Calculating Property Retention Index
accompanied by a report prepared in accordance with Section 9 that
of Plastics
describes the specific operating conditions used. Refer to Practice G151
for detailed information on the caveats applicable to use of results
obtained in accordance with this practice.
NOTE 4—Additional information on sources of variability and on
This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D-20 on Plastics
strategies for addressing variability in the design, execution, and data
and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D20.50 on Permanence Properties.
analysis of laboratory-accelerated exposure tests is found in Guide G141.
Current edition approved Jan. 10, 1999. Published April 1999.
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 08.01.
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 06.01.
4 5
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 08.03. Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 14.02.
Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United States.
D 6360
4.2 Reproducibility of test results between laboratories has center.Iftheirradianceatanypositionwithintheexposurearea
been shown to be good when the stability of materials is is less than 90% of the peak irradiance, follow one of the
evaluated in terms of performance ranking compared to other procedures outlined in Practice G153 to ensure either equal
materials or to a control; therefore, exposure of a similar radiant exposure or compensation for differences in radiant
material of known performance (a control) at the same time as exposure.
,
the test materials is strongly recommended. It is recom- 6.7 Retain a supply of unexposed file specimens of all
mended that at least three replicates of each material be materialsevaluated.Whendestructivetestsarerun,ensurethat
exposed to allow for statistical evaluation of results. sufficient file specimens are retained so that the property of
4.3 Test results will depend upon the care that is taken to interest can be determined on unexposed file specimens each
operate the equipment in accordance with Practice G153. time exposed materials are evaluated.
Significant factors include regulation of line voltage, freedom 6.8 Specimens should not be removed from the exposure
from salt or other deposits from water, temperature and apparatus for more than 24 h and then returned for additional
humidity control, and conditions of the electrodes. tests, since this does not produce the same results on all
materials as tests run without this type of interruption. When
5. Apparatus
specimensareremovedfromtheexposureapparatusfor24hor
5.1 The enclosed carbon-arc apparatus used shall conform
more, and then returned for additional exposure, report the
to the requirements defined in Practices G151 and G153.
elapsed time in accordance with Section 9.
5.2 Unless otherwise specified, the spectral power distribu-
NOTE 6—Since the stability of the file specimen also may be time-
tion of the enclosed carbon-arc shall conform to the require-
dependent, users are cautioned that over prolonged exposure periods, or
ments in Practice G153 for enclosed carbon-arc with borosili-
where small differences in the order of acceptable limits are anticipated,
cate glass globes.
comparisonofexposedspecimenswiththefilespecimenmaynotbevalid.
Instrumental measurements are recommended whenever possible.
6. Test Specimen
7. Procedure
6.1 The size and shape of specimens to be exposed will be
determined by the specifications of the particular test method 7.1 Practice G153 lists several exposure cycles that are
used to evaluate the effects of the exposure on the specimens; used for enclosed carbon-arc exposures of nonmetallic mate-
therefore, the test method shall be determined by the parties rials. Obtain mutual agreement between all concerned parties
concerned. Where practical, it is recommended that specimens for the specific exposure cycle used. Additional intervals and
be sized to fit specimen holders and racks supplied with the methods of wetting, by spray or condensation, or both, may be
exposure apparatus. Unless supplied with a specific backing as substituted upon mutual agreement among the concerned
an integral part of the test, specimens shall be mounted so that parties.
only the minimum specimen area required for support by the
7.1.1 Byhistoricalconvention,thefollowingexposurecycle
holder shall be covered. This unexposed surface must not be has been commonly used for plastics:
used as part of the test area.
7.1.2 Continuous light with equilibrium uninsulated black
6.2 Unless otherwise specified, exposure at least three panel temperature controlled to 63 6 3°C (145 6 9°F),
replicate specimens of each test and control material.
consisting of the following alternating intervals:
6.3 Follow the procedures described in Practice G147 for 7.1.2.1 102 minutes light only followed by 18 minutes of
identification and conditioning and handling of specimens of
light with water sprayed on the test specimens.
test, control, and reference materials prior to, during, and after 7.1.3 Unlessotherwisespecified,indeviceswhichallowfor
exposure. control of relative humidity, maintain relative humidity at a 50
6.4 Do not mask the face of a specimen for the purpose of 6 5% equilibrium during the light-only interval.
showing on one panel the effects of various exposure times.
NOTE 7—The equilibrium black panel temperature is obtained without
Misleading results may be obtained by this method, since the
a spray period. For light intervals less than 30 min the maximum black
masked portion of the specimen is still exposed to temperature
panel temperature may not reach equilibrium.
and humidity cycles that in many cases will affect results. NOTE 8—The test cycle described in 7.1.1 (also referred to as the
102/18 cycle) may not provide adequate simulation of the effects of
6.5 Since the thickness of a specimen may markedly affect
outdoor exposure.
the results, thickness of test and control specimens shall be
within 6 10% of the nominal dimensions.
7.2 It is recommended that all unused spaces in the speci-
men exposure area be filled with blank metal panels.
NOTE 5—This is especially important when mechanical properties are
7.3 Water Purity:
being investigated.
7.3.1 The purity of water used for specimen spray is very
6.6 Incident energy at the extremes of the specimen
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