CEN/TC 249/SC 2/WG 4 - Reinforced thermoplastics composites

This document defines a method for the determination of data suited to the assessment of the flowability and solidification of polypropylene based glass fibre mat reinforced thermoplastic moulding compounds (GMT) carried out with commonly applied moulding parameters.
The influence on moulding behaviour of both the individual components of the material and the moulding parameters may be determined by this method. It is suitable for quality control purposes as well as for the development of material formulations.
Depending on the objectives of the analysis, different elements of the procedure described in this document may be chosen.
This test method may be used for the production of a test plate suitable for the preparation of test specimens for the determination of materials properties.

1.1 This part of Enxxx describes the general requirements applicable to the specification of all types of glass mat reinforced polypropyl}ne composite sheet(GMT)falling within the scope of this specification as defined in Part 1 of the standard including the sampling procedures, packaging, storage and labelling requirements. 1.2 This part 2 describes the procedures to be followed in the preparation moulded plaques from which are cut the test specimens for the determination of mechanical properties as specified in Parts 1 and 3.

1.1   This part of prEN 13677 establishes a data block system for the designation of glass mat reinforced thermoplastic composite sheet (GMT).
1.2   The types of thermoplastic composite sheets are differentiated from each other by a classification system based on information about basic polymer parameters, fillers/reinforcement content and type, intended method of processing and/or manufacturing, specific characteristics and designatory properties.
1.3   This European Standard is applicable to glass fibre mat reinforced polypropylene sheet materials only.
It applies to materials ready for commercial use in the form of flat sheet or coil.
This European Standard does not apply to :
¾ thermoplastic sheet moulding materials where the polymer is other than polypropylene or polypropylene alloy or a blend ;
¾ the reinforcement is other than glass fibre.
1.4   It is not intended to imply that materials having the same designation give necessarily the same performance. This part of prEN 13677 does not provide engineering data, performance data or data on processing conditions which may be required to specify a material for a particular application and/or method of processing.
If such additional properties are required, when ever possible, they shall be determined in accordance with the test methods specified in Part 2 of this European Standard.
1.5   Whenever technical properties required in the Part 3 of this standard need to be indicated, this data block system is also the basis for it.
1.6   To ensure that the meanings of codes remain unambiguous and to avoid conflicts within the system, codes and abbreviations have been co-ordinated within the relevant ISO technical sub-committees.

1.1   This Part 3 of prEN 13677, is a specification for thermoplastic compression mouldable sheet consisting of textile glass mat reinforced polypropylene or equivalent products, as described in Part 1 of this specification.
The specification defines those parameters which shall be specified plus other parameters which may be specified if required for a particular application or processing method.
1.2   The specification does not define absolute or nominal values for any parameter. The value of a specified parameter is to be defined by the manufacturer, but this specification defines the method of test to be used to determine the value of each specified parameter and the tolerance about which the parameter shall be controlled by the manufacturer.
1.3   The parameters to be defined in any GMT specification are defined in 4.1. Parameters to be specified are those, which should typically appear on data sheets. Only a selection of these parameters should be included on the certificate of conformity. The other parameters which are included in a specification should either be nominated by the manufacturer, or agreed between manufacturer and customer. These parameters are defined in 4.2.
1.4   A selection of the specified parameters should be used for quality control purposes to check the conformity. The specification defines which parameters should be used for checking the conformity of the material. These parameters are defined as part of 4.1. Other specified parameters may be included if critical for a particular application or processing method. This is to be agreed between manufacturer and customer of a production lot and will be reported in the certificate of conformity, which should be in accordance with EN 10204.