Application of a Reliability-Based Methodology for Predicting the Outdoor Service Life of Polymers

Published

May 1, 2002

Author(s)

Joannie W. Chin, Jonathan W. Martin, E Byrd, Tinh Nguyen, N Embree, J D. Tate

Abstract

Organic polymers are a commercially important class of materials that are being increasingly used in outdoor applications such as paints, coatings, sealants, siding and roofing membranes, to name just a few. One of the most damaging elements in the outdoor environment is ultraviolet (UV) radiation, both alone and in conjunction with moisture and temperature. Conventional ways of predicting the weatherability, or service life, of a polymer involve either outdoor testing performed in real time or accelerated laboratory testing using artificial UV sources, neither of which have proven to be entirely successful.The high performance polymeric building materials group at NIST is developing a reliability-based methodology for predicting the service life of a polymeric material in outdoor environments. The NIST approach makes use of methodologies that are well-established in the biological and medical communities. In the course of developing this new methodology, a number of novel instruments for conducting UV exposures have also been invented. The basis for the new predictive methodology and the novel instruments used for laboratory UV weathering will be discussed.

Proceedings Title

ANTEC 2002 Proceedings

Conference Dates

May 1, 2002

Conference Title

SPE ANTEC

Pub Type

Conferences

Keywords

building materials, polymers, service life prediction, ultraviolet radiation

Citation

Chin, J. , Martin, J. , Byrd, E. , Nguyen, T. , Embree, N. and Tate, J. (2002), Application of a Reliability-Based Methodology for Predicting the Outdoor Service Life of Polymers, ANTEC 2002 Proceedings (Accessed October 18, 2025)