Plastic failure is a common term used for any type of deformation that occurs in plastic during its lifetime. The main types of failures include wear, crack, degradation, distortion, and aesthetic alteration. These failures may affect the performance and service life of the application, where the specific plastic part is used. In order to avoid such problems, it is important to understand the types and causes of plastic failure.
Types of Plastic Failure
Following are the major types of plastic failure:
- Environmental Failure: The plastic deterioration may occur due to environmental factors such as heat, UV rays, microbes, pollution, etc.
- Thermal Failure: This type of failure occurs, when the plastic is exposed to extremely high or low temperatures.
- Chemical Failure: This type of failure occurs, when the plastic is exposed to harsh chemicals.
- Mechanical Failure: This type of failure occurs when the impact of external force is stronger than the yield strength of the plastic material.
Causes of Plastic Failure
These are four areas to consider when analyzing the causes of plastic failure.
- Selection of the Material: Many times manufacturers end up using poor quality material or cheaper material replacement to meet high consumer demands. However, it may lead to system or application failure. They should consider environmental, thermal, chemical, and mechanical aspects of the plastic while selecting a plastic for a particular application.
- Manufacturing Process: During the manufacturing process, the plastic may be affected by moisture content, stress, and welding.
- Design: Poor design is one of the prime causes of plastic failure. The product should be designed keeping the function in mind.
- Service Conditions: The deformation may be caused due to an inappropriate use of the material. Users can utilize professional expertise to understand the appropriate use of the plastic part, component, or application.
Today, various techniques employed to analyze the plastic failure in materials. Most plastic suppliers and manufacturers are aware of these plastic failure analysis methods. You can approach any reputed plastic supplier in your area to analyze plastic failure, if any in your application.
