INTERNATIONAL ISO

STANDARD 1872-2

Third edition
2007-02-01

Plastics — Polyethylene (PE) moulding

and extrusion materials —
Part 2:
Preparation of test specimens and
determination of properties

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Plastiques — Polyéthylène (PE) pour moulage et extrusion —
Partie 2: Préparation des éprouvettes et détermination des propriétés
(standards.iteh.ai)
ISO 1872-2:2007
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Reference number
ISO 1872-2:2007(E)

© ISO 2007
ISO 1872-2:2007(E)

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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.

International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.

The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. 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.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

ISO 1872-2 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 61, Plastics, Subcommittee SC 9, Thermoplastic
materials.
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This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition (ISO 1872-2:1997), which has been technically
revised, and incorporates Amendment Amd.1:2000.
(standards.iteh.ai)
ISO 1872 consists of the following parts, under the general title Plastics — Polyethylene (PE) moulding and
extrusion materials: ISO 1872-2:2007
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— Part 1: Designation system and basis ab750654e170/iso-1872-2-2007
for specifications

— Part 2: Preparation of test specimens and determination of properties

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 iTeh STANDARD PREVIEW
(standards.iteh.ai)
ISO 1872-2:2007
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ab750654e170/iso-1872-2-2007
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 1872-2:2007(E)

Plastics — Polyethylene (PE) moulding and extrusion

materials —
Part 2:
Preparation of test specimens and determination of properties

1 Scope
This part of ISO 1872 specifies the methods of preparation of test specimens and the test methods to be used
in determining the properties of polyethylene (PE) moulding and extrusion materials. Requirements for
handling test material and for conditioning both the test material before moulding and the specimens before
testing are given.

Procedures and conditions for the preparation of test specimens and procedures for measuring properties of
the materials from which these specimens are made are also given. Properties and test methods that are
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suitable and necessary to characterize PE moulding and extrusion materials are listed.

The properties have been selected(standards.iteh.ai)

from the general test methods in ISO 10350-1. Other test methods in wide
use for or of particular significance to these moulding and extrusion materials are also included in this part of
ISO 1872, as are the designatory properties specified in ISO 1872-1.
ISO 1872-2:2007
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In order to obtain reproducible and comparable test results, it is necessary to use the methods of preparation
ab750654e170/iso-1872-2-2007
and conditioning, the specimen dimensions and the test procedures specified herein. Values determined will
not necessarily be identical to those obtained using specimens of different dimensions or prepared using
different procedures.

2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.

ISO 62, Plastics — Determination of water absorption

ISO 75-2, Plastics — Determination of temperature of deflection under load — Part 2: Plastics and ebonite

ISO 178, Plastics — Determination of flexural properties

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

ISO 179-2, Plastics — Determination of Charpy impact properties — Part 2: Instrumented impact test

ISO 293, Plastics — Compression moulding of test specimens of thermoplastic materials

ISO 294-1, Plastics — Injection moulding of test specimens of thermoplastic materials — Part 1: General
principles, and moulding of multipurpose and bar test specimens

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ISO 1872-2:2007(E)

ISO 294-3, Plastics — Injection moulding of test specimens of thermoplastic materials — Part 3: Small plates

ISO 294-4, Plastics — Injection moulding of test specimens of thermoplastic materials — Part 4:
Determination of moulding shrinkage

ISO 527-2, Plastics — Determination of tensile properties — Part 2: Test conditions for moulding and
extrusion plastics

ISO 899-1, Plastics — Determination of creep behaviour — Part 1: Tensile creep

ISO 1133:2005, Plastics — Determination of the melt mass-flow rate (MFR) and the melt volume-flow rate
(MVR) of thermoplastics

ISO 1183-1, Plastics — Methods for determining the density of non-cellular plastics — Part 1: Immersion
method, liquid pyknometer method and titration method

ISO 1183-2, Plastics — Methods for determining the density of non-cellular plastics — Part 2: Density gradient
column method

ISO 1183-3, Plastics — Methods for determining the density of non-cellular plastics — Part 3: Gas
pyknometer method

ISO 1628-3, Plastics — Determination of the viscosity of polymers in dilute solution using capillary
viscometers — Part 3: Polyethylenes and polypropylenes

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ISO 1872-1:1993, Plastics — Polyethylene (PE) moulding and extrusion materials — Part 1: Designation
system and basis for specifications
(standards.iteh.ai)
ISO 2818, Plastics — Preparation of test specimens by machining
ISO 1872-2:2007
ISO 3167, Plastics — Multipurpose test specimens
https://standards.iteh.ai/catalog/standards/sist/61c5fae4-758b-461f-a994-
ab750654e170/iso-1872-2-2007
ISO 4589-2, Plastics — Determination of burning behaviour by oxygen index — Part 2: Ambient-temperature
test

ISO 6603-2, Plastics — Determination of puncture impact behaviour of rigid plastics — Part 2: Instrumented
impact testing

ISO 8256, Plastics — Determination of tensile-impact strength

ISO 10350-1, Plastics — Acquisition and presentation of comparable single-point data — Part 1: Moulding
materials (Under revision)

ISO 11357-2, Plastics — Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) — Part 2: Determination of glass transition
temperature

ISO 11357-3, Plastics — Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) — Part 3: Determination of temperature and
enthalpy of melting and crystallization

ISO 11359-2, Plastics — Thermomechanical analysis (TMA) — Part 2: Determination of coefficient of linear
thermal expansion and glass transition temperature

ISO 16770, Plastics — Determination of environmental stress cracking (ESC) of polyethylene — Full-notch
creep test (FNCT)

IEC 60093, Methods of test for volume resistivity and surface resistivity of solid electrical insulating materials

IEC 60112, Method for the determination of the proof and the comparative tracking indices of solid insulating
materials

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 ISO 1872-2:2007(E)

IEC 60243-1, Electrical strength of insulating materials — Test methods — Part 1: Tests at power frequencies

IEC 60250, Recommended methods for the determination of the permittivity and dielectric dissipation factor of
electrical insulating materials at power, audio and radio frequencies including metre wavelengths

IEC 60296, Fluids for electrotechnical applications — Unused mineral insulating oils for transformers and
switchgears

IEC 60695-11-10, Fire hazard testing — Part 11-10: Test flames — 50 W horizontal and vertical flame test
methods

ASTM D 638, Standard test method for tensile properties of plastics

ASTM D 1693, Standard test method for environmental stress-cracking of ethylene plastics

3 Preparation of test specimens

It is essential that specimens are always prepared by the same procedure (either injection moulding or
compression moulding), using the same processing conditions.

The procedure to be used for each test method is indicated in Tables 3 and 4 (M = injection moulding,
Q = compression moulding).

3.1 Treatment of the material before moulding

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(standards.iteh.ai)
No pre-treatment of the material sample is normally necessary before processing.

3.2 Injection moulding ISO 1872-2:2007

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Injection moulding of test specimens is used for PE moulding materials having a melt mass-flow rate of
ab750654e170/iso-1872-2-2007
W 1 g/10 min, determined in accordance with ISO 1133:2005 using set of test conditions D (190 °C/2,16 kg).

Injection-moulded specimens shall be prepared in accordance with ISO 294-1 or ISO 294-3, using the
conditions specified in Table 1. It has been found that type A bar test specimens (prepared in accordance with
ISO 3167) give better precision than type B (injection-moulded directly to their final dimensions) and so the
use of this geometry is preferable.

NOTE Details of the work can be found at:

<http://isotc.iso.ch/livelink/livelink?func=ll&objid=927134&objAction=browse&> on the SC9 server. (11 Round-robin test
results: Technical report. Comparison of precision data for two types of bar test specimens formed in PP and PE.)

An appropriate hold pressure, consistent with the production of blemish-free mouldings, shall be used.

Table 1 — Conditions for injection moulding of test specimens

Average
Melt Mould Cooling Total
Material injection
temperature temperature time cycle time
velocity
°C °C mm/s s s
MFR W 1 g/10 min 210 40 100 ± 20 35 ± 5 40 ± 5

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ISO 1872-2:2007(E)

3.3 Compression moulding

Compression moulding is used for materials with a melt mass-flow rate of < 1 g/10 min, determined in
accordance with ISO 1133:2005 using set of test conditions D (190 °C/2,16 kg). For thinner specimens
(u 2 mm thick) and where specifically prescribed in Tables 3 and 4, compression moulding shall be used for
all materials.

Compression-moulded sheets shall be prepared in accordance with ISO 293 using the conditions specified in
Table 2. The test specimens required for the determination of the properties shall be machined from the
compression-moulded sheets in accordance with ISO 2818, or stamped

NOTE Stamping is suitable for specimens of lower thickness up to 4 mm. Compared with milling or sawing, it gives
lower stress and deformation to the specimens.

Table 2 — Conditions for compression moulding of test specimens

Moulding Average Demoulding Full Full-pressure Preheating Preheating

Material
temperature cooling rate temperature pressure time pressure time
°C °C/min °C MPa min MPa min
All grades 180 15 u 40 5/10a 5±1 Contact 5 to 15
a Use 5 MPa for a frame mould and 10 MPa for a positive mould.
NOTE 1 Inconsistent cooling rates can lead to significant deviations in measured properties due to the effect on the crystallinity of
the specimens. So, it is desirable to use a moulding machine that can keep a constant cooling rate.
NOTE 2 iTeh STANDARD PREVIEW
For a type 1 mould, since full pressure is only applied upon the frame, compression-moulded sheet may suffer from
insufficient homogeneity and pellet boundaries may be preserved.
(standards.iteh.ai)
A type 1 (frame) mould may be used, but it is necessary ISO 1872-2:2007
to start the cooling cycle whilst simultaneously
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applying the full pressure. This avoids the melt being pressed out of the frame and also avoids sink marks.
ab750654e170/iso-1872-2-2007
For thicker sheet (≈ 4 mm), a type 2 (positive) mould has been found to work satisfactorily. The preheating
time depends on the type of mould and the type of energy input (steam, electricity). For frame moulds, 5 min
is usually sufficient but for positive moulds, due to the bigger mass, a preheating time of up to 15 min may be
necessary, especially if electric heating is used.

4 Conditioning of test specimens

Unfilled PE test specimens shall be conditioned for at least 16 h at 23 °C ± 2 °C, with no relative humidity
requirement. Specimens made from materials containing fillers or additives that are susceptible to moisture
uptake shall be conditioned for at least 16 h at 23 °C ± 2 °C and (50 ± 10) % relative humidity.

5 Determination of properties
In the determination of properties and the presentation of data, the standards, supplementary instructions and
notes given in ISO 10350-1 shall be applied. Unless specifically stated in Table 3 and 4, testing of unfilled PE
test specimens shall be carried out in the standard atmosphere of 23 °C ± 2 °C with no relative humidity
requirement. Specimens made from materials containing fillers and additives that are susceptible to moisture
uptake shall be tested in the standard atmosphere of 23 °C ± 2 °C and (50 ± 10) % relative humidity.

Table 3 is compiled from ISO 10350-1, and the properties listed are those that are appropriate to polyethylene
(PE) moulding and extrusion materials. These properties are those considered useful for comparisons of data
generated for different thermoplastics.

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 ISO 1872-2:2007(E)

Table 4 contains those properties not found specifically in Table 3 that are in wide use or of particular
significance in the practical characterization of polyethylene (PE) moulding and extrusion materials.

Table 3 — General properties and test conditions (selected from ISO 10350-1)

Inter- Specimen type

Specimen Test conditions
Property Symbol national Unit
(dimensions preparation a and supplementary instructions
Standard in mm)

1 Rheological properties

Melt mass-flow
1.1 MFR g/10 min See conditions given in ISO 1872-1.
rate
Moulding See conditions given in ISO 1872-1.
ISO 1133 —
Melt volume-flow compound cm3/
1.2 MVR Use a value for the melt density of
rate 10 min 763,6 kg/m3 to calculate the mass-flow
rate of unfilled materials.b

1.3 SMp Parallel

Moulding
ISO 294-4 60 × 60 × 2 M %
shrinkage SMn
1.4 Normal

2 Mechanical properties

2.1 Tensile modulus Et Test speed 1 mm/min

MPa
2.2 Yield stress σy

2.3 Yield strain iTeh STANDARD PREVIEW

εy Failure with yielding: test speed
50 mm/min
%
2.4
Nominal strain at
break
εtB (standards.iteh.ai)
ISO 527-2

Stress at 50 % σ50 ISO 3167

2.5 ISO 1872-2:2007
strain Failure without yielding
MPa
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εB u 10 %: test speed 5 mm/min
2.6 Stress at break σB ab750654e170/iso-1872-2-2007
Bε > 10 %: test speed 50 mm/min
2.7 Strain at break εB %

2.8 Etc1 At 1 h
Tensile creep Strain u 0,5 %
ISO 899-1 MPa
modulus
2.9 Etc103 At 1 000 h
M/Q
2.10 Flexural modulus Ef ISO 178 80 × 10 × 4 MPa Test speed 2 mm/min

80 × 10 × 4
ISO 179-1
Charpy notched acA Machined Edgewise impact, method 1eA.
2.11 or
impact strength V-notch, Also record type of failure.
ISO 179-2
r = 0,25
kJ/m2
80 × 10 × 4
Tensile notched atI Machined Only to be quoted if fracture cannot be
2.12 ISO 8256
impact strength double V-notch, obtained with notched Charpy test.
r=1

2.13 Puncture energy WP J Striker velocity 4,4 m/s

Striker diameter 20 mm
Support ring diameter 40 mm
ISO 6603-2 60 × 60 × 2 Lubricate the striker.
Maximum FM
2.14 N Clamp the specimen sufficiently to
puncture force
prevent any out of plane movement of its
outer regions.

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