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INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 179-2

First edition
1997-12-15

Plastics — Determination of Charpy impact

properties —
Part 2:
Instrumented impact test
Plastiques — Détermination des caractéristiques au choc Charpy —
Partie 2: Essai de choc instrumenté

A Reference number
ISO 179-2:1997(E)
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ISO 179-2:1997(E)

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide
federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of
preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO
technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which
a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented
on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-
governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO
collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission
(IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

Draft International Standards adopted by the technical committees are

circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an International
Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting
a vote.

International Standard ISO 179-2 was prepared by Technical Committee

ISO/TC 61, Plastics, Subcommittee SC 2, Mechanical properties.

ISO 179 consists of the following parts, under the general title Plastics —
Determination of Charpy impact properties:

— Part 1: Non-instrumented impact test

— Part 2: Instrumented impact test

Annexes A to C of this part of ISO 179 are for information only.

© ISO 1997
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced
or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and
microfilm, without permission in writing from the publisher.
International Organization for Standardization
Case postale 56 • CH-1211 Genève 20 • Switzerland
Internet central@iso.ch
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Printed in Switzerland

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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD © ISO ISO 179-2:1997(E)

Plastics — Determination of Charpy impact properties —

Part 2:
Instrumented impact test

1 Scope
1.1 This part of ISO 179 specifies a method for determining Charpy impact properties of plastics from force-
deflection diagrams. Different types of rod-shaped test specimen and test configuration, as well as test parameters
depending on the type of material, the type of test specimen and the type of notch are defined in part 1 of ISO 179.

Dynamic effects such as load-cell/striker resonance, test specimen resonance and initial-contact/inertia peaks are
described (see figure 1, curve b, and annex A).

1.2 For the comparison between Charpy and Izod test methods, see ISO 179-1, clause 1.

ISO 179-1 is suitable for characterizing the impact behaviour by the impact strength only and for using apparatus
whose potential energy is matched approximately to the particular energy to break to be measured (see ISO 13802,
annex C). This part of ISO 179 is used if a force-deflection or force-time diagram is necessary for detailed
characterization of the impact behaviour, and for developing automatic apparatus, i.e. avoiding the need, mentioned
above, to match energy.

1.3 For the range of materials which may be tested by this method, see ISO 179-1, clause 1.

1.4 For the general comparability of test results, see ISO 179-1, clause 1.

1.5 The method may not be used as a source of data for design calculations on components. However, the
possible use of data is not the subject of this part of ISO 179. Any application of data obtained using this part of
ISO 179 should be specified by a referring standard or agreed upon by the interested parties.

Information on the typical behaviour of materials can be obtained by testing at different temperatures, by varying the
notch radius and/or specimen thickness and by testing specimens prepared under different conditions.

It is not the purpose of this part of ISO 179 to give an interpretation of the mechanism occurring at every point on
the force-deflection diagram. These interpretations are a task for on-going scientific research.

1.6 The test results are comparable only if the conditions of test specimen preparation, as well as the test
conditions, are the same. Comprehensive evaluation of the reaction to impact stress requires that determinations be
made as a function of deformation rate and temperature for different material variables such as crystallinity and
moisture content. The impact behaviour of finished products cannot, therefore, be predicted directly from this test,
but test specimens may be taken from finished products for testing by this method.

1.7 Impact strengths determined by this method may replace those determined using ISO 179-1 if comparability
has been established by previous tests.

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2 Normative references
The following standards contain provisions which, through reference in this text, constitute provisions of this part of
ISO 179. At the time of publication, the editions indicated were valid. All standards are subject to revision, and
parties to agreements based on this part of ISO 179 are encouraged to investigate the possibility of applying the
most recent editions of the standards indicated below. Members of IEC and ISO maintain registers of currently valid
International Standards.

ISO 179-1:—1), Plastics — Determination of Charpy impact properties — Part 1: Non-instrumented impact test.

ISO 13802:—2), Plastics — Verification of pendulum impact-testing machines — Charpy, Izod and tensile impact
testing.

3 Definitions
For the purposes of this part of ISO 179, the definitions given in part 1 apply, together with the following:

3.1 impact velocity, v0: The velocity of the striker relative to the test specimen supports at the moment of impact.

It is expressed in metres per second (m/s).

3.2 inertial peak: The first peak in a force-time or force-deflection diagram. It arises from the inertia of that part of
the test specimen accelerated after the first contact with the striker (see figure 1, curve b, and annex A).

3.3 impact force, F: The force exerted by the striking edge on the test specimen in the direction of impact.

It is expressed in newtons (N).

3.4 deflection, s: The displacement of the striker relative to the test specimen supports after impact, starting at
first contact between striker and test specimen.

It is expressed in millimetres (mm).

3.5 impact energy, W: The energy expended in accelerating, deforming and breaking the test specimen during
the deflection s.

It is expressed in joules (J).

It is measured by integrating the area under the force-deflection curve from the point of impact to the deflection s.

3.6 maximum impact force, FM: The maximum value of the impact force in a force-time or force-deflection
diagram (see figure 1).

It is expressed in newtons (N).

3.7 deflection at maximum impact force, sM: The deflection at which the maximum impact force FM occurs (see
figure 1).

It is expressed in millimetres (mm).

___________
1) To be published. (Revision of ISO 179:1993)
2) To be published.

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Figure 1 — Typical force-deflection (N and t) and force-time (b) curves

(for the types of failure, see figure 2)

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N = no break: yielding followed by plastic deformation up to the deflection limit sL;

P = partial break: yielding followed by stable cracking, resulting in a force at the deflection limit sL which is greater than
5 % of the maximum force;
t = tough break: yielding followed by stable cracking, resulting in a force at the deflection limit sL which is less than or
equal to 5 % of the maximum force;
b = brittle break: yielding followed by unstable cracking;
s = splintering break: unstable cracking followed by yielding;
sL = deflection limit; beginning of pull-through.

NOTE — Due to the different modes of deformation, force-deformation curves obtained using this part of ISO 179 show features which are
different from those obtained using ISO 6603-2 [1]. In particular, the first damage event in instrumented puncture tests frequently appears as a
slight sudden force decrease (crack initiation), followed by a gradual force increase. Force increases after crack initiation are never observed in
instrumented three-point-bending impact tests. Furthermore, inertial effects are not as pronounced in plate impact tests as they are in bending
impacts tests (see annex A).

Figure 2 — Typical force-deflection curves showing different failure modes

for type 1 specimens tested edgewise

3.8 energy to maximum impact force, WM: The energy expended up to the deflection at maximum impact force.

It is expressed in joules (J).

3.9 deflection at break, sB: The deflection at which the impact force is reduced to less than or equal to 5 % of the
maximum impact force FM (see figure 1).

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© ISO ISO 179-2:1997(E)

It is expressed in millimetres (mm).

It is necessary to differentiate between the deflection at break sB and the deflection limit sL at the beginning of pull-
through (see figure 1, curve N) which is determined by the length l and width b of the test specimen and the
distance L between the specimen supports. For type 1 specimens in the edgewise position, sL is in the range 32 mm
to 34 mm.

NOTE — Using type 1 specimens tested edgewise, apparent deflection limits are sometimes observed, i.e. unexpectedly low
values (down to only 20 mm) at which the impact force drops to zero, but the specimens do not break. Carrying out the test
slowly shows that, in such cases, the specimen changes from the edgewise to the more stable flatwise position by a combined
bending-twisting deformation. This can easily be confirmed by checking the specimen after the test: it is bent with respect to an
axis not parallel, but inclined to, the specimen width.
This behaviour is caused by the high ratio between the edgewise and the flatwise flexural rigidity of the specimen and is
triggered by a small asymmetry feature e.g. the draft angle.
This phenomenon may be avoided by fitting guide elements in front of, but not connected to, the instrumented striking edge,
thus preventing the central part of the specimen from twisting to any great extent.

3.10 impact energy at break, WB: The impact energy up to the deflection at break sB.
It is expressed in joules (J).

3.11 Charpy (notched) impact strength, acU (acN): The impact energy at break relative to the initial central
cross-sectional area A (AN) of the unnotched (notched) specimen (see 8.4 and ISO 179-1, 3.1 and 3.2).

It is expressed in kilojoules per square metre (kJ/m2).

3.12 type of failure: The type of deformation behaviour of the material under test (see figure 2). It may be either
no break (N), partial break (P), tough (t), brittle (b) or splintering (s).

Types t, b and s represent subgroups of the complete break C and hinge break H defined in part 1 of ISO 179. For
these types, values of the impact energy at break WB, and thus for the Charpy impact strength, may be averaged to
give a common mean value. For specimens giving a partial break P and for materials exhibiting interlaminar shear
fracture, see ISO 179-1, subclause 7.6. For specimens showing more than one failure type, see ISO 179-1,
subclause 7.7.

NOTE — As can be seen from figure 2, the deflection and the impact energy at maximum force are identical to the deflection
and impact energy at break in the case of splintering failure (see curve s) and brittle failure (see curve b), where unstable
cracking takes place at the maximum impact force.

4 Principle
A rod-shaped test specimen, supported near its ends as a horizontal beam, is impacted perpendicularly, with the
line of impact midway between the supports, and bent at a high, nominally constant velocity. The impact geometry
is described in ISO 13802, clause 5. During the impact, the impact force is recorded. Depending on the method of
evaluation, the deflection of the specimen may be either measured directly by suitable measuring devices or, in the
case of energy carriers which give a frictionless impact, calculated from the initial velocity and the force as a
function of time. The force-deflection diagram obtained in these tests describes the high-bending-rate impact
behaviour of the specimen from which several aspects of the material properties may be inferred.

5 Apparatus
5.1 Test machine
5.1.1 Basic components

The basic components of the test machine are the energy carrier, the striker and the frame with its specimen
supports. The energy carrier may be of the inertial type (e.g. a pendulum or free-falling dart, which may be spring or
pneumatically assisted before impact) or of the hydraulic type.

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The test machine shall ensure that the specimen is bent by the impact at a nominally constant velocity
perpendicular to the specimen length. The force exerted on the specimen shall be measurable, and its deflection in
the direction of impact shall be derivable or measurable.

5.1.2 Energy carrier

For the low-energy pendulum types specified in ISO 179-1 (see also ISO 13802, subclause 5.2.3), the impact
velocity v0 is 2,90 m/s ± 0,15 m/s and for the high-energy types it is 3,8 m/s ± 0,2 m/s. For the purposes of
comparing impact strength data obtained using this method with data obtained in accordance with ISO 179-1, the
impact velocity used in this part of ISO 179 shall be 2,90 m/s ± 0,15 m/s, although it may be desirable to also use
the impact velocity v0 = 3,8 m/s ± 0,2 m/s (see also notes 1 and 2 below).

To avoid obtaining results which cannot be compared due to the viscoelastic behaviour of the material under test,
the decrease in the velocity during impact shall not be greater than 10 % (see note 3 below).

The hydraulic-type energy carrier is a high-speed impact-testing machine with suitable attachments. Any inaccuracy
in the velocity of the striker relative to the specimen supports during impact shall be checked, e.g. by recording the
deflection-time curve and checking the slope.

In the case of gravitationally accelerated energy carriers, the above impact velocities correspond to drop heights of
43 cm ± 5 cm and 74 cm ± 7 cm, respectively, the latter representing an increase by a factor of 1,54 in the kinetic
energy E at impact if the same energy carrier is used at both impact velocities.

The maximum permitted decrease in velocity during impact of 10 % specified above means that the kinetic energy
E, in joules, at impact must satisfy the condition

E W *>5 . . . (1)

where W* is the highest value, in joules, of the energy to be measured (see ISO 13802, annex C, and note 2).

The mass mC, in kilograms, of the energy carrier must therefore satisfy inequalities (2) and (3):

mC >10 W * v02 . . . (2)

, W * when v0 = 2,9 m s
mC > 12 . . . (3)

e.g.

mC > 12 kg when W * = 10 J
NOTES
1 The height of the inertial peak FI (see figure 1, curve b), and also the amplitudes of the subsequent vibrations of the
specimen, increase with increasing impact velocity. For basic information about these vibrations, see annex A and references
[1] and [2] in annex C. For further information about the interpretation of the inertial peak and the damping of vibrations, see
annex A.
2 For special applications, e.g. testing precracked test specimens to obtain data on fracture properties, it may be useful to use
a lower impact velocity of e.g. 1 m/s ± 0,05 m/s to reduce the vibrations mentioned in note 1.
3 This condition is in accordance with the conditions given in ISO 179-1, subclause 7.3 (see ISO 13802, annex C). It ensures
that the change in velocity during impact is comparable to that in conventional impact testing, and consequently the values of
impact strength are comparable. This is important, because plastics are bending-rate-sensitive, especially at temperatures
close to transition temperatures.

5.1.3 Striking edge

See ISO 13802, subclause 5.8.1 and table 3.

Any material with sufficient resistance to wear and sufficiently high strength to prevent it from being deformed, as
well as being capable of transmitting the forces exerted upon the specimen to the load-measuring device, can be
used for the striking edge.