Measure Toughness of Plastic material with Izod and Charpy Test

The impact resistance of plastics and energy absorption or toughness of plastic materials is measured by several methods such as Izod, Charpy, Tensile impact, and so forth. Polymeric materials that are sensitive to the stress concentration at the notch will perform poorly in the notched Izod test.

The Charpy and Izod tests measure the toughness of materials and are used by many industries where plastic components are used for testing material strength. The test measures the amount of energy absorbed by a notched sample when it gets hit by a weighted pendulum.

Method of test

Izod& Charpy Impact Testing Equipment is an instrument with a pendulum that gets released to impact a secured sample. The sample can be metals or plastic materials with either have a V or a U-shaped notch in it. Sample gets deformed if there are no notches in them. The test result can be inconsistent if there are no notches in the material. Testers use a broaching machine or a notch cutter to make the notches on the sample material. The depth for a v-shaped notch is 2mm and 5mm in the case of U shaped notched sample.

The sample is either heated or cooled up before the test is performed. To perform the impact test, the operator first raises and locks the pendulum at a fixed height. The tester then places the sample on a support in the striking anvil. Izod& Charpy Impact Tester makes sure that the sample is well secured.

High-strength plastics are also quite brittle or having low impact strength. By testing such plastics with the Izod test method the impact resistance of the plastic can be determined. The toughness of a plastic describes how much energy the plastic material will absorb while plastic deformation is occurring can be determined with Izod impact resistance testing. With the help of this testing procedure, the manufacturers of plastic products can ensure that their products are capable of performing under high physical stress conditions.

Pacorr is a major manufacturer and supplier of Charpy Impact Tester that measures the impact resistance of plastics. Useful in plastic testing labs and quality control departments. The type of tests conducted by the equipment are Izod for horizontal impact on the vertical clamp and Charpy for vertical impact on the horizontal clamp. It complies with ASTM standards available with accessories such as motorized notch cutter.