Building Materials AMU-2005

5.2 Plastics

The term plastics, as it is commonly used today, refers to a large group of synthetic
materials which are made from a number of common substances such as coal, salt, oil
natural gas, cotton, wood, and water. From these common substances, relatively simple
chemicals known as monomers, which are capable of reacting with one another, are
produced. These are then built in to chainlike molecules called polymers.

Plastics are generally taken to imply a group of organic materials that become plastic on
heating and then they could be molded to required shapes. On cooling down to normal
temperatures plastics regain rigidity.
These are natural or synthetic in origin. Natural plastics like shellac and resin have since
long been in use. Plastics are weighed or filled with fibers or granular substances as needed.
All plastic materials can be classified as either thermoplastics or thermosetting plastics,
called thermo sets:

5.2.1 Thermoplastics. Thermoplastics become soften when heated and hard when cooled,
regardless of the number of times the process is repeated. However, there are practical
limits to the number of times that thermoplastics can be subjected to the heat-cool cycle.
Too many cycles may result in the loss of color or plasticiser, which in turn, affects the
appearance or the properties of the product. Example PVC.
a) Acrylic (Polymethyl methacrtlate). Methyl methacrylate is an important constituent of
this class of plastics having very wide application. It is:

More transparent than even glass and transmits light far better

Tough and strong and does not shutter under impact

Un affected by moisture and light acids

Its compressive strength is 1600 to 2400 kg/cm 2 and the tensile strength 450 to 700
kg/cm2

Doesn’t soften up to 800C

Used in place of glass in doors and windows where shutter risk is high

Used as safety glass in cars and aircrafts
b) Cellulose acetate. These are made from the short stubby fibers (termed as linters) left on
the cottonseed after spinnable fibers have been remolded. Cellulose acetate is:
 Brittle at low temperatures
 Attacked by strong acids
 Not affected by dilute acids, alkalines, ether and hydrocarbon
 It swell on absorbing water and looses the shape.
b) Cellulose nitrate. To obtain cellulose nitrate cotton is treated with sulfuric acid and
nitric acid by the process called “ Nitration”. Excess acids are then removed, the product
washed with hot water mixed with camphor, a plasticizer, and the desired coloring
pigment. These then kneated rolled in to sheets and seasoned for weeks.
Cellulose nitrates are:
 Tough and durable
 Unaffected by moisture or solvent other than alcohol, ketone and ether
 Brittle by continuous exposure to heat and light.
c) Polythene.
 Is transparent, chemically inert, and unaffected by moisture or temperature

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 Is used in making pipes for cold-water services, cistern ball floats, covers to
cement concrete for curing and sheets for moisture proof packing.
d) Perspex. It is a proprietary thermoplastic resin that gives light and tough sheets, which
does not break easily. The sheets that are exceptionally transparent, can be cut, nailed
and sawn with out difficulty. It is used for lampshades and in electric fittings and put to
various other buildings usages.
e) Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). It is a product obtained from vinyl chloride and acetates.
 It resists attack of acids and alkalies
 Unaffected by moisture
 Light in weight and can be cut easily
 Bad conductor of electricity
 Withstand wear and tear easily
It is used in manufacture of drainage pipes for sanitation, as insulation for electric
wires, as flooring finish and emulsion paint and so on.
f) Polyvinyl acetate (PVA). It is a product obtained by the polymerization of vinyl acetate.
Its properties and uses are very much similar to those of PVC.

5.2.2 Thermosetting. Thermo sets undergo an irreversible chemical change during molding, so
that they do not soften on heating and thus cannot be recycled.
These undergo chemical changes on molding and the product obtained after molding is
chemically changed. In these phenol-formaldehyde or other resin is the binder of and
powdered wood is the filter. Both the constituents are intimately mixed, heated and molded
under pressure. Resin cannot be hard on reheating, just as cement cannot be obtained back
from cement concrete after it has set. The plastics are durable and fairly strong.

5.2.3 Manufacture of Plastics

The process of uniting monomers to form polymers is known as polymerization and is
accomplished by either a condensation or an addition process. In the first process,
monomers or group of monomers unite chemically by the interaction of active units in each
one. Often, in the process water, alcohol, or hydrogen chloride may be eliminated as a by-
product.
In the addition process, monomers attach themselves to one another in an end-to-end
fashion. This repetition of units in a molecule may result in a chain-line linear structure, a
chain with branches or arms, or an interlaced structure with cross-linked units, forming
network-type molecules.
The production of plastic product is divided in to three steps that some times overlap:
1. The manufacturer converts raw materials in to basic plastic compounds in the form of
granules, powder, beads, or liquid resins.
2. The processor takes these basic compounds and forms them by one method or another in
to sheets, films, rods, and other solid or semi-solid shapes. During this process, the
plastics are usually combined in order to achieve certain desired physical properties in
the product.
3. Finally, a fabricator makes finished plastic products.
Plastic products are formed by a number of methods, which include injection molding, blow
molding, expandable bead molding, compression molding, transfer molding, rotational
molding, form molding, extrusion thermoforming, laminating, casting, and calendaring.

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Building Materials AMU-2005

Injection Molding
In the injection molding process, measured amount of powder or granules are fed in to the
intake end of the heated barrel of a molding machine, and forced forward by a ram. The
material is spread out against the walls of the cylinder by a spreader or torpedo and heated
at temperatures of 149 – 3430C so that by the time it reaches the nozzle it is liquefied and
will flow .It is then forced through the nozzle under pressures (34.5 to 275.75 Mpa) in to a
closed, cold mold, where it cools and solidifies.
Almost all thermoplastics may be injection molded, and some thermo sets are being
similarly handled with modified machinery.

Blow Molding
Blow molding includes three processes: extrusion-blow molding, injection-blow molding,
and stretch-blow molding. In the extrusion – blow-molding process, an extruder produces a
hollow tube, called a parison, which is captured between the two valves of a hollow mold.
As the mold closes, the bottom end of the parison is sealed off

Compression Molding
Compression molding is the simplest type of molding and the most common method by
which thermo sets are molded. A measured amount of powder is placed in the heated mold,
which is then closed. Heat and pressure are applied to the plastic material, which melts and
flows to all parts of the mold.

Rotational Molding
Rotational molding is used to form hollow units with complex shapes and heavy walls. A
pre-measured amount of powder or liquid resin is placed in the bottom half of a cold mold
and the mold is closed. It is then rotated horizontally and vertically to distribute the material
evenly over the inner mold surfaces, passed through an oven to heat and cure the plastic,
cooled, and finally opened to eject the product.

Extrusion Thermoforming
Extrusion forming is used for mass produced materials, which has a constant cross section,
and it is done in two ways The simplest way is the forcing of semi liquid plastic through a
die of the proper size and shape in a manner similar to that used for forming brick by
extrusion. The other extrusion method involves forcing wire, cable or chord through a die
along with the plastic, so that the materials emerge with a plastic containing.
In the thermoforming process, sheet plastic is heated until soft and then forced against a
cold mold surface, where it cools and hardens to shape. There are two principal methods of
thermoforming .One involves the use of a vacuum to exhaust air from the inside of a closed
mold so that outside air pressure is applied to the outside of a hot plastic sheet, stretched
over the open side of a mold forcing it in to and against the mold. Thermoforming is limited
to thermoplastics. Typical products include domed skylights, refrigerator, washing machine
covers, door panels, patterned light diffusers, toys, and aircraft parts. (Figure 3.3)

Laminating
Laminating in general, consists of bonding together a number of layers of materials to form
a single sheet. Two processes are involved. In one, the layers of material to be laminated-
paper, close, glass, fiber, or asbestos-are impregnated with a thermosetting resin and
assembled to provide the proper thickness. They are then subjected to heat and pressure,

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which causes the resin to flow, up on cooling, the laminate hardens in to a solid sheet.
Tubes are made by laminating a number of layers around a mandrel.

In the other process, a number of layers of one material are laminated together to form a
sheet, and then a layer of a different material is laminated to one or both faces. The most
common product made by this process is overlaid plywood, which consists of cellulose fiber
sheet impregnated with a phenol-form-aldehyde resin and laminated to a poly wood sheet.
Other products include patterned wall paneling, tabletop material, and industrial laminated
board.

Casting
Casting is a simple process in which liquid plastics, with their appropriate curing agents are
poured in to moulds and set, with or with out heat. Typical casting products with pipe rods
and sheet being typical casting products.

Calendaring
Calendaring is a form of extrusion in which plastic material is fed to a pair of revolving
rollers, which extrude a thin film or sheet from between them. Such things as vapor barrier
film, floor covering, shower curtains, swimming pool liners; construction boarding, and
automobile seat covers are common products.

Properties of Plastics

The engineering properties of plastics are:

1. These are available in a variety of shades, textures, and finishes to meet all the
possible aesthetic requirements in building construction.
2. Can be molded in any shape and size
3. Easy to work up on
4. Offer high resistance to weathering and corrosion
5. Quite light in weight
6. Not attacked by insects or fungi
7. Require little maintenances
8. Have good electrical insulation properties
9. Some varieties of plastics have good optical properties
10. Withstand moisture, oil and greases well
11. They are easy to install

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