Information on data sheets is great for predicting how test bars will react at room temperature to specific conditions. But in the real world? Read on.
One of the least understood and most erroneously specified areas in the design field is high-temperature plastics. The phrase is widely used but difficult to define. What plastics can genuinely be called “high temperature”? What are high temperatures? The answers can differ dramatically, depending on the application and the plastic.
The minimum definition: They are plastics that have usable mechanical properties at an elevated temperature. The irony is that very few suppliers of high-temperature plastics publish that information on data sheets. Instead, what you find are mechanical properties based on ASTM or ISO tests conducted at room temperature.
