Course Title

Course Title: Weathering of Plastics and Colors

6 Professional Development Hours/0.6 CEUs

Course Description: The Weathering of Plastics and Colors course provides an insight into the processes by which a material degrades under a variety of environmental conditions. Components of weathering and variables affecting weathering are also discussed. The course concludes by discussing the various weathering methods and instruments used to analyze the effects of weathering on a variety of materials

Overall Course Objectives:

Learn about the chemical and physical processes of weathering in polymers, as well as how to simulate weathering.
Explore the causes of degradation.
Become familiar with the particular strengths or weaknesses of each polymer family.

Course Content:

Lesson 1 – Introduction, Components of Weathering, Variables Affecting Weathering, Oxidation and Photo-Induced Reactions

Objectives:

List the three main constituents of weathering and recognize the damaging effects they have on polymers.

Identify factors that may affect the ability of a material to resist weathering.

Explain the chemical reaction series known as photo-oxidation.

Lesson 2 – Special Topics in Weathering, Material Properties and Weathering

Objectives:

Describe how the physical, mechanical, and chemical characteristics of a polymer are affected by weathering.

Understand environmental stress cracking, and how testing can be performed to predict the resistance of a polymer to environmental stress cracking.

Gain knowledge of weathering resistance of several polymer families, and how to improve the ability to withstand weathering effects.

Lesson 3 – Weathering Methods, Evaluation and Analysis of Weathering Exposure

Objectives:

Develop an understanding of the natural weathering process, along with accelerated natural weathering.

Compare artificial weathering to actual weathering, and recognize the equipment used in the artificial process.

Identify the two primary criteria of weathering evaluation, and describe how this is accomplished.

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