Significance and Use

This guide is intended for use by material suppliers, aircraft transparent enclosure fabricators, air-frame manufacturers, government agencies, and others that may become involved in the testing of transparency components. These test methods provide data on both individual materials and material combinations commonly utilized in the fabrications of aerospace transparent enclosures comprised of monolithic plastic, coated monolithic plastic or laminated constructions containing plastics.

Primary properties and their long term stability are critical to the performance of aerospace transparent enclosures. Property measurement tests define as-manufactured material properties of these materials. Aging procedures provide for exposure of parts or representative sections to environments that may induce changes in material properties as determined in property measurement tests. Property measurement tests performed before and after aging exposure provide a means of estimating the potential usable life span of a transparency or to compare the durability of one material with another.

When employing these test methods for comparison of materials for weathering effects the user should be aware that the many factors influencing degradation due to weathering vary from one location to another. For direct weathering comparisons, all material(s) should undergo exposure conditions and property measurements testing at the same time.

The test methods listed include those considered critical to the performance of aircraft transparent enclosures. Other test methods to evaluate materials may also be performed. Additional test methods are in preparation and will be incorporated. The user is advised to employ the latest revision of any test method.

The dominant component of all transparent enclosures is one, or more, rigid transparent sheet(s). The sheet(s) must permit the necessary visibility while providing structural integrity and protecting the aircraft interior from external environments as required by the specific aircraft design.

In its most simple form, the rigid transparent sheet may be the only component of a transparent enclosure.

When more than one rigid transparent sheet is employed, the sheets are laminated with a controlled thickness with either an air gap or with a transparent adhesive known as an interlayer.

Transparent enclosure designs may use multiple rigid transparent sheets to take advantage of specific properties of different materials. In this instance, there will be functions required of one of the sheets but not the other.

The test methods, practices and guides listed are a summary of the available test methods applicable to plastic transparent enclosures. They are presented in this format to simplify the search and to enable the user to determine if a method applicable to his requirements is available.

1. Scope

1.1 This guide is intended to summarize the standard test methods available on individual and composite materials utilized in fabrication of aerospace plastic transparent enclosures. As such, it is intended to specifically include transparent thermoplastics, transparent elastomers, and reinforced plastics, whether thermoplastic or thermosetting.

1.2 This guide is intended as an aid in the search for test methods pertinent to Aerospace Plastic Transparent Enclosures. It should be understood that all methods listed may not apply to all enclosures.

1.3 The standards included refer to the properties or aspects listed in Table 1. The properties or aspects are listed in alphabetical order and the descriptions used are intended to facilitate the search.

1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

2. Referenced Documents (purchase separately) The documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard.

ASTM Standards

C117 Test Method for Materials Finer than 75-m (No. 200) Sieve in Mineral Aggregates by Washing

D149 Test Method for Dielectric Breakdown Voltage and Dielectric Strength of Solid Electrical Insulating Materials at Commercial Power Frequencies

D150 Test Methods for AC Loss Characteristics and Permittivity (Dielectric Constant) of Solid Electrical Insulation

D256 Test Methods for Determining the Izod Pendulum Impact Resistance of Plastics

D257 Test Methods for DC Resistance or Conductance of Insulating Materials

D412 Test Methods for Vulcanized Rubber and Thermoplastic Elastomers--Tension

D542 Test Method for Index of Refraction of Transparent Organic Plastics

D543 Practices for Evaluating the Resistance of Plastics to Chemical Reagents

D570 Test Method for Water Absorption of Plastics

D624 Test Method for Tear Strength of Conventional Vulcanized Rubber and Thermoplastic Elastomers

D638 Test Method for Tensile Properties of Plastics

D695 Test Method for Compressive Properties of Rigid Plastics

D696 Test Method for Coefficient of Linear Thermal Expansion of Plastics Between -30C and 30C with a Vitreous Silica Dilatometer

D746 Test Method for Brittleness Temperature of Plastics and Elastomers by Impact

D785 Test Method for Rockwell Hardness of Plastics and Electrical Insulating Materials

D790 Test Methods for Flexural Properties of Unreinforced and Reinforced Plastics and Electrical Insulating Materials

D792 Test Methods for Density and Specific Gravity (Relative Density) of Plastics by Displacement

D953 Test Method for Bearing Strength of Plastics

D1003 Test Method for Haze and Luminous Transmittance of Transparent Plastics

D1004 Test Method for Tear Resistance (Graves Tear) of Plastic Film and Sheeting

D1044 Test Method for Resistance of Transparent Plastics to Surface Abrasion

D1238 Test Method for Melt Flow Rates of Thermoplastics by Extrusion Plastometer

D1499 Practice for Filtered Open-Flame Carbon-Arc Exposures of Plastics

D1525 Test Method for Vicat Softening Temperature of Plastics

D2240 Test Method for Rubber Property--Durometer Hardness

D2565 Practice for Xenon-Arc Exposure of Plastics Intended for Outdoor Applications

D2583 Test Method for Indentation Hardness of Rigid Plastics by Means of a Barcol Impressor

D2584 Test Method for Ignition Loss of Cured Reinforced Resins

D2766 Test Method for Specific Heat of Liquids and Solids

D3167 Test Method for Floating Roller Peel Resistance of Adhesives

D5420 Test Method for Impact Resistance of Flat, Rigid Plastic Specimen by Means of a Striker Impacted by a Falling Weight (Gardner Impact)

E1640 Test Method for Assignment of the Glass Transition Temperature By Dynamic Mechanical Analysis

F319 Practice for Polarized Light Detection of Flaws in Aerospace Transparency Heating Elements

F320 Test Method for Hail Impact Resistance of Aerospace Transparent Enclosures

F330 Test Method for Bird Impact Testing of Aerospace Transparent Enclosures

F484 Test Method for Stress Crazing of Acrylic Plastics in Contact with Liquid or Semi-Liquid Compounds

F520 Test Method for Environmental Resistance of Aerospace Transparencies to Artificially Induced Exposures

F521 Test Methods for Bond Integrity of Transparent Laminates

F548 Test Method for Intensity of Scratches on Aerospace Transparent Plastics

F733 Practice for Optical Distortion and Deviation of Transparent Parts Using the Double-Exposure Method

F734 Test Method for Shear Strength of Fusion Bonded Polycarbonate Aerospace Glazing Material

F735 Test Method for Abrasion Resistance of Transparent Plastics and Coatings Using the Oscillating Sand Method

F736 Test Method for Impact Resistance of Monolithic Polycarbonate Sheet by Means of a Falling Weight

F791 Test Method for Stress Crazing of Transparent Plastics

F801 Test Method for Measuring Optical Angular Deviation of Transparent Parts

F942 Guide for Selection of Test Methods for Interlayer Materials for Aerospace Transparent Enclosures

F1165 Test Method for Measuring Angular Displacement of Multiple Images in Transparent Parts

F1181 Test Method for Measuring Binocular Disparity in Transparent Parts

F1252 Test Method for Measuring Optical Reflectivity of Transparent Materials

F1316 Test Method for Measuring the Transmissivity of Transparent Parts

F1362 Test Method for Shear Strength and Shear Modulus of Aerospace Glazing Interlayer Materials

G154 Practice for Operating Fluorescent Light Apparatus for UV Exposure of Nonmetallic Materials

Keywords

abrasion; acrylic; adhesion; aerospace; bonding; electrical; enclosures; environmental; impact; interlayers; materials; mechanical; optical; physical; plastic; polycarbonate; properties; thermal; transparent; Acrylic plastics; Aerospace transparent enclosures; Enclosures; Interlayer materials; Polycarbonate (PC);

ICS Code

ICS Number Code 49.045 (Structure and structure elements)

DOI: 10.1520/F0790-08

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ASTM F790