Corrosivity Test Methods for Polymeric Materials. Part 1- Radiant Furnace Test Method [1]

This is the first in a series of papers published by the Polyolefins Fire Performance Council, a unit of the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., to investigate corrosivity test methods. In this paper, 25 polymeric materials were evaluated for smoke corrosion using the proposed ASTM E05.21.70 test stan dard. These commercially available polymeric materials cover a broad range of compositions used for wire and cable insulation and jacketing. The samples were decomposed in the proposed ASTM apparatus and a copper probe was subsequently exposed to the combustion gases. The corrosive poten tial, as defined by metal loss in angstroms, was determined for each material. The data demonstrate that the ASTM E05.21.70 test protocol does differentiate corrosive potentials of polymeric materials. Some refinement in this test method is warranted to better develop it as a standard for measuring corrosiv ity. Further work is under way to evaluate other test methods as standardized corrosivity methods. This future work will focus on the proposed CNET ISO IC61/SC4/WG2 test, the DIN 57472 acid gas test, and the cone calorimeter (DyGST) corrosivity test under review by ASTM DO9.21.04.