 
                Amanda
Cool
Supervisor and Test Engineer - Chemical Testing, Materials Science and Engineering
United States
Contact AmandaThe composition of rubber and plastics in cured, compounded products can give researchers a view at the predicted life of the material. While certain polymers may have superior elasticity, for example, they may have inadequate ozone resistance in a given application. Through the identification of polymer types and blends, our team can compare performance criteria before specifying a material for use.
Some common techniques used determine the polymer type and polymer blends present in a compound include:
Other common methods are noted in ASTM D3677. 
Smithers experts can recommend the optimal testing technique for identifying polymer blends and polymer types based on the investigation that is required.
| Standard Test Methods for Rubber Products—Chemical Analysis | ||
| ASTM D1513 | Standard Test Method for Carbon Black, Pelleted—Pour Density | |
| Standard Classification System for Rubber Products in Automotive applications | ||
| ASTM D2983 | Standard Test Method for Low-Temperature Viscosity of Automatic Transmission Fluids, Hydraulic Fluids, and Lubricants using a Rotational Viscometer | |
| ASTM D3418 | Standard Test Method for Transition Temperatures and Enthalpies of Fusion and Crystallization of Polymers by Differential Scanning Calorimetry ASTM E1131 — Standard Test Method for Compositional Analysis by Thermogravimetry | |
| ASTM D3566 | Standard Practice for Rubber—Determination of Bromine in the Presence of Chlorine by Oxygen Combustion | |
| ASTM D3677 | Standard Test Methods for Rubber – Identification by Infrared Spectrophotometry ASTM E1252 — Standard Practice for General Techniques for Obtaining Infrared Spectra for Qualitative Analysis | |
| ASTM D3849 | Standard Test Method for Carbon Black—Morphological Characterization of Carbon Black Using Electron Microscopy | |
| ASTM D4004 | Standard Test Methods for Rubber—Determination of Metal Content by Flame Atomic Absorption (AAS) Analysis | |
| ASTM D4574 | Standard Test Methods for Rubber Compounding Materials—Determination of Ash Content | |
| ASTM D5667 | Standard Test Method for Rubber From Synthetic Sources—Total and Water Soluble Ash | |
| ASTM D6869 | Standard Test Method for Coulometric and Volumetric Determination of Moisture in Plastics Using the Karl Fischer Reaction (the Reaction of Iodine with Water) | |
| ISO 11357 | Plastics -- Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) | |