Session - 4 Failure Analysis and Failure Prevention of Plastic Parts

Paul Gramann, Ph.D.
Plastics Are Not Like Metals
Temperature Time
Plastic Parts Over Time
A plastic part can fail after a long period of time
when in the presence of some applied force,
chemical or environmental condition.
Force – Assembly (CREEP)
Chemical – Cleaning Agents
Environmental – Sun Light

Creep
Time Related Failure
Highly Dependent on Stress Level,

Temperature, and Molecular
Weight
By Definition – Occurs at a Stress

Level that is Below the Material’s
Yield Point
www.madisongroup.com
Time to Failure (Creep)
20oC (68oF)
Stress (Mpa)
Standard Tensile Time to Failure (hours) 1 Year

Test ASTM D 638
www.madisongroup.com Ref: ASM Materials Handbook. Vol 2.

Time to Failure
Region of Creep
Region of
Interest
Ductile-Brittle
Transition
Strain vs Time (Creep): Amorphous vs
Semicrystalline
5.0
POM
Test Temperature: 23oC
Strain [%] 4.0 Semi-Crystalline Tensile Stress: 30 N/mm2
3.0
2.0
PC
1.0 Amorphous
1 2 3 4 5
10 10 10 10 10
Time [Hours]
POM (Tg = -50oC)

PC (Tg = 150oC)
www.madisongroup.com Ref:Dupont Design Guide

Creep Failure – Change Plastic
Creep Failure – Change Plastic
 Manufactured Change Plastic From PVC to
Polypropylene
 Polypropylene Better for Chemical Resistance
 Manufacture Failed to Consider Creep
• Below Tg with PVC
• Above Tg with PP
 Change Took Place for ~4 Months Before Going
Back to PVC
 6 million toilet valves made during this time
 Over $26 million dollars paid out in claims by
manufacturer
CHEMICAL
Environmental Stress Cracking
Chemical Attack
ESC of Polycarbonate
Environmental Stress Concentration (ESC)
Ductile Brittle
Polycarbonate Knob
Forensic Analysis
Scanning Electron Microscopy

Forensic Analysis
Infrared Spectrum (IR)
on Oil Residue
Liquid at
Crack
Polypropylene
Glycol
DESIGN
Effect of Poor Part Design
Less time to
failure
Time to Failure
Sharp Corners
Flexible Stress Failure

Concentration
Sharp Corner In Bread Basket
Sharp corner resulted

failure of stacking rail
and personal injury
LOW MOLECULAR WEIGHT
Resin from Supplier
Processing
Plastic Degradation
(Reduction in Molecular Weight)
High Molecular Weight Low Molecular Weight

MW~40,000 MW ~ 500
(Milk Container) (Candle)
• Ductile • Brittle
• High Impact Resistance • Low Impact Resistance
• Does Not Break Easily • Breaks Easily
Case Study: Processing Failure – Failure of a
Horse Stirrup
• Polyethylene Core - Made of Recycled Tyvec

• Failure Occurred at Staple Used to Hold
Leather Covering to Plastic Core
• Resulted in Massive Injuries to Rider
Horse Stirrup: Leather Covered HDPE Core
Case Study: Design Failure – Electrical Assembly
Identify Plastic with FTIR
Fai l ed P art B ri ttl e La yer
0.45
0.40
0.35
Absorbance
0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
HDP E S ta nd ard
0.6
0.5
Absorbance
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
3000 2000 1500 1000 800 600
Wav enumbers (cm-1)
Mechanism of Degradation
Determined with FTIR
0.50 Othe r S i d e S urfa ce Are a
Othe r S i d e B rittl e A rea
0.45
Brittle Region of Saddle
0.40
Tyvec Virgin Pellet
0.35
Peak at 1730cm-1
0.30 Indicates Oxidation
Absorbance
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
3000 2000 1500 1000 800 600

Wav enumbers (cm-1)
Determine Material Quality with Gel
Permeation Chromatography
Large Difference in Molecular

Weight
Prediction Prevention
Case Study # 1: Electrical Connector
• Injection-Molded electrical connector

• Manufactured from unfilled
poly(butylene terephthalate) PBT resin
• Snaps onto housing during service
• Part experienced consistent cracking
several weeks after assembly
Initiation
FEA Analysis of Company Confirming Parts Will
NOT Break
Predict Failure Using Data From Campus ®
Paul Gramann
and Javier Cruz
Ref: CAMPUS Plastics Database

www.materialdatacenter.com
Multipoint Data Results Interpretation
Part Predicted to
Break at ~1000
hours at 30MPa
• Material testing predicted failure

would occur before 1,000 hours of
assembly
Datasheet sources: CAMPUS Plastic database
Possible Solutions to Failures
Consider modifying part geometry
Initiation
• Failure occurred at sharp corner • Reducing stress to 21MPa by

• Increase radius to reduce stress increasing the radius could extend
concentration expected lifetime to over 10,000 hours
Datasheet sources: CAMPUS Plastic database
Case Study #2
Predicting Failure with Testing
Perform Long-Term Testing

• ASTM D 2990: Tensile, Flexure or Compressive
Perform Short-Term Testing to Predict Long-Term Properties

• Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA): ASTM D2990 X5
Refs: J.A. Foreman, Measurement of the Physical
Properties of Engineering Thermoplastics Using Thermal
Analysis, TA Instruments, TA-090.
34
CASE STUDY: FAILURE ANALYSIS 35
OF PROTOTYPE INDUSTRIAL FAN
Approval given to The Madison Group by

client to present this case study.
Apparent Modulus
When a constant stress is applied to a plastic
component the strain continues to increase over
time (CREEP)
σ
Ea =
εo + εt
Apparent Modulus
decreases over time
(not constant)
DMA Creep-TTS
Paul Gramann
and Javier Cruz
Principle: The mechanical response to stress

exhibits an equivalence between time and
temperature.
Source: TA Instruments
Low Temp Shorter timescales

High Temp Longer timescales
Ref: M. Sepe, A Matter of Time, Injection Molding Magazine

Glass Filled Polypropylene
(Equivalence Linear Strain Analysis – ASTM D 638)
Knit line shows:

• Lower modulus
Stress-Strain at the Same Temperature • Lower strength
Master Curve is Generated • More brittle behavior
Away from Knit line

Knit line
Structural Analysis
Paul Gramann
and Javier Cruz
Calculating Strain Over Time
Paul Gramann
Failure
and Javier Cruz
Strain(time) = Stress / E(time)

Apparent Modulus (E) Over Time
Equivalent Strain – Failure Criterion
Maximum Stress
• Determined via Structural Analysis
Glass Filled Polypropylene
(Creep Curve at 71oC)
Paul Gramann
and Javier Cruz
Weldline
Failure
Predicted at
~7 Weeks
Full Fiber No Weldline Knitline
Glass Filled Nylon 6/6
(Creep Curve at 71oC)
Paul Gramann
and Javier Cruz
Equivalent Strain for Failure:

~ 1.5% Knitline
~ 2.4% Full Fiber Weldline
No Weldline
Full Fiber Knitline
Conclusions of Analysis
Paul Gramann
and Javier Cruz
• Glass filled polypropylene fan cracked after nine weeks of

reliability testing. Therefore, the seven week prediction was
excellent.
• The alternative material analyzed was determined to
perform very well.
• Further reliability testing with alternative material showed
material is superior.
• Alternative material has been used at full production with
no failure problems.
Long-Term Material Behaviors are
Paul Gramann
and Javier Cruz
Not Obvious
CT Imaging of Plastic Parts
• Utilizes Tomography – Imaging by Sections that are
Digitally Stitched Together
• Essentially Thousands of X-Rays are Taken as Part or
Instrument is Rotated
• Gives a Full Volumetric (3D) Representation of the
Part
• “Windowing” can be Used to Analyze Any Section of
Part in a 2D or 3D Representation
CT Imaging
• Completely Nondestructive
• No Coating (gold coating for SEM)
• No Special Mounting
• Typical Resolution is Down to 10-20
• Software Detects Differences In Density
• Different Components (e.g. Rubber
Gasket)
• Poor Mixing of Additives
• Orientation and Density of
Reinforcement
• Allows for Isolating Materials for
Observation
CT Imaging
• Can be Used for Metrology

• Wall Thickness Measurements
• Internal Measurements
• Part to Part Comparison
• Part to Solid Model
• Cannot Measure Below CT Resolution
• Limitations of CT Imaging
• Difficulty with High Density Materials
• Size Limitations
• Cost – When Compared to Other
Techniques this is a Significant
Advantage
QUESTIONS?
Paul J. Gramann, Ph.D.

The Madison Group
Madison, WI
paul@madisongroup.com
Ph: 608-231-1907

Session - 4 Failure Analysis and Failure Prevention of Plastic Parts

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Session - 4 Failure Analysis and Failure Prevention of Plastic Parts

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Session - 4 Failure Analysis and Failure Prevention of Plastic Parts

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Paul Gramann, Ph.D.

Plastics Are Not Like Metals

Force – Assembly (CREEP)

Chemical – Cleaning Agents

Environmental – Sun Light

Time Related Failure

Highly Dependent on Stress Level,

By Definition – Occurs at a Stress

Standard Tensile Time to Failure (hours) 1 Year

www.madisongroup.com Ref: ASM Materials Handbook. Vol 2.

POM (Tg = -50oC)

www.madisongroup.com Ref:Dupont Design Guide

Environmental Stress Concentration (ESC)

Scanning Electron Microscopy

Flexible Stress Failure

Sharp corner resulted

High Molecular Weight Low Molecular Weight

• Polyethylene Core - Made of Recycled Tyvec

3000 2000 1500 1000 800 600

Large Difference in Molecular

• Injection-Molded electrical connector

Ref: CAMPUS Plastics Database

• Material testing predicted failure

• Failure occurred at sharp corner • Reducing stress to 21MPa by

Perform Long-Term Testing

Perform Short-Term Testing to Predict Long-Term Properties

OF PROTOTYPE INDUSTRIAL FAN

Approval given to The Madison Group by

Principle: The mechanical response to stress

Low Temp Shorter timescales

Ref: M. Sepe, A Matter of Time, Injection Molding Magazine

Knit line shows:

Away from Knit line

Strain(time) = Stress / E(time)

Equivalent Strain – Failure Criterion

Equivalent Strain for Failure:

Full Fiber Knitline

• Glass filled polypropylene fan cracked after nine weeks of

• Can be Used for Metrology

Paul J. Gramann, Ph.D.

You might also like