Standard Specification for Polyethylene Plastics …

1 Designation: D 4976 04aStandard Specification forPolyethylene Plastics molding and Extrusion Materials1 This Standard is issued under the fixed designation D 4976; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. Asuperscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or specification is not intended for the selection of materials, but only as a means to call outplastic materials to be used for the manufacture of parts. The selection of these materials is to be madeby personnel with expertise in the Plastics field where the environment, inherent properties of thematerials, performance of the parts, part design, manufacturing process, and economics areconsidered.

2 This specification does not specify the source of the resin to be used for the fabricationof any given Scope* This specification provides for the identification ofpolyethylene Plastics molding and extrusion materials in sucha manner that the supplier and the user can agree on theacceptability of different commercial lots or shipments. Thetests involved in this specification are intended to provideinformation for identifying materials in accordance with thegroups, classes, and grades covered. It is not the function ofthis specification to provide specific engineering data fordesign Other requirements may be necessary to identify par-ticular characteristics important to specialized shall be agreed upon between the user and the supplier,by using the suffixes given in Ethylene plastic materials, being thermoplastic, arereprocessable and recyclable (seeNote 1).

3 This specificationallows for the use of those ethylene plastic materials, providedthat any specific requirements as governed by the producer andthe end user are See GuideD 5033for information and definitions related torecycled The values stated in SI units are regarded as The following precautionary caveat pertains to the testmethod portion only, Section12, of this does not purport to address all of the safety concerns,if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the userof this Standard to establish appropriate safety and healthpractices and determine the applicability of regulatory limita-tions prior to For information regarding plastic pipe materials seeSpecificationD 3350. For information regarding wire andcable materials, see SpecificationD 1248. For information onpolyethylenes with densities below g/cm3, see Classifi-cationD There is no similar or equivalent ISO Referenced standards .

4 2D 257 Test Methods for D-C Resistance or Conductance ofInsulating MaterialsD 568 Test Method for Rate of Burning and/or Extent andTime of Burning of Flexible Plastics in a Vertical Position3D 618 Practice for Conditioning Plastics for TestingD 635 Test Method for Rate of Burning and/or Extent andTime of Burning of Self-Supporting Plastics in a Horizon-tal PositionD 638 Test Method for Tensile Properties of PlasticsD 790 Test Methods for Flexural Properties of Unreinforcedand Reinforced Plastics and Electrical Insulating MaterialsD 792 Test Methods for Density and Specific Gravity (Rela-tive Density) of Plastics by DisplacementD 883 Terminology Relating to PlasticsD 1238 Test Method for Flow Rates of Thermoplastics by1 This specification is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D20 onPlastics and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee on edition approved December 1, 2004.

5 Published December 2004. Origi-nally approved in 1995. Last previous edition approved in 2004 as D 4976 - referenced ASTM standards , visit the ASTM website, , orcontact ASTM Customer Service at ForAnnual Book of ASTMS tandardsvolume information, refer to the Standard s Document Summary page onthe ASTM *A Summary of Changes section appears at the end of this ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United by ASTM Int'l (all rights reserved);Reproduction authorized per License Agreement with Kathe Hooper (ASTMIHS Account); Mon Jan 10 16:15:53 EST 2005 Copyright ASTM International Provided by IHS under license with ASTM Sold to:LADTECH, INC., W0355264 Not for Resale,2006/9/25 21:13:10 GMTNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS--`,`,``,`,````,,,,,,-`-`,,`,,`,`,,`- --Extrusion PlastometerD 1248 Specification for Polyethylene Plastics molding andExtrusion MaterialsD 1505 Test Method for Density of Plastics by the Density-Gradient TechniqueD 1531 Test Methods for Relative Permittivity (DielectricConstant)

6 And Dissipation Factor by Fluid DisplacementProceduresD 1600 Terminology for Abbreviated Terms Relating toPlasticsD 1693 Test Method for Environmental Stress-Cracking ofEthylene PlasticsD 1898 Practice for Sampling of Plastics3D 2565 Practice for Xenon Arc Exposure of Plastics In-tended for Outdoor ApplicationsD 2951 Test Method for Resistance of Types III and IVPolyethylene Plastics to Thermal Stress-CrackingD 3350 Specification for Polyethylene Plastics Pipe andFitting MaterialsD 3892 Practice for Packaging/Packing of PlasticsD 4000 Classification System for Specifying Plastic Mate-rialsD 4329 Practice for Fluorescent UV Exposure of PlasticsD 4703 Practice for Compression molding ThermoplasticMaterials into Test Specimens, Plaques, or SheetsD 4883 Test Method for Density of Polyethylene by theUltrasound TechniqueD 5033 Guide for the Development of standards Relating tothe Proper Use of Recycled PlasticsD 5593 Classification for Thermoplastic Elastomers Olefinic (TEO)D 6360 Practice for Enclosed Carbon Arc Exposures ofPlasticsE 29 Practice for Using Significant Digits in Test Data toDetermine Conformance with SpecificationsF 1473 Test Method for Notch Tensile Test to Measure theResistance to Slow Crack Growth on Polyethylene Pipesand Standard :MIL-STD-105 Sampling Procedures and Tables for Inspec-tion by Standard :Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 302, Flammabilityof Interior Materials53.

7 For definitions of technical terms pertain-ing to Plastics used in this specification, see TerminologyD 883and TerminologyD Historical usage and user group conventions have re-sulted in inconsistent terminology used to categorize anddescribe Polyethylene resins and compounds. The followingterminology is in use in ASTM specifications pertaining D 1248 Type (I, II, III, IV) = density ranges (same, respec-tively, as Classes 1, 2, 3, and 4 in Specification D 4976). Class (A, B, C, D) = composition and Category (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) = melt index ranges (same asGrade in Specification D 4976). Grade (E, J, D, or W followed by one or two digits)= specific requirements from D 3350 Type (I, II, III) = density ranges (same as Types I, II,and III in SpecificationD 1248and Classes 1, 2, and 3 inSpecification D 4976). Class = a line callout system consisting of PE followed by six cell numbers from Table 1 plus a letter (A, B,C, D, E) denoting color and UV Grade = simplified line callout system using PE followed by density and slow crack growth cell numbers fromTable D 4976 Group (1, 2) = branched or linear Class (1, 2, 3, 4) = density ranges (same, respec-tively, as Types I, II, III, and IV in SpecificationD 1248).

8 Grade (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) = melt index ranges (same asCategory in SpecificationD 1248).4. Unreinforced Polyethylene plastic materials are classi-fied into groups in accordance with molecular structure. Thesegroups are subdivided into classes and grades as shown inTable PE (Basic Property Table).4 Available from Standardization Documents Order Desk, Bldg. 4 Section D, 700 Robbins Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19111-5094, Attn: from United States Department of Transportation, National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration, Office of Public Affairs and Consumer Participation,400 7th St., SW, Washington, DC 4976 04a2 Copyright by ASTM Int'l (all rights reserved);Reproduction authorized per License Agreement with Kathe Hooper (ASTMIHS Account); Mon Jan 10 16:15:53 EST 2005 Copyright ASTM International Provided by IHS under license with ASTM Sold to:LADTECH, INC.

9 , W0355264 Not for Resale,2006/9/25 21:13:10 GMTNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS--`,`,``,`,````,,,,,,-`-`,,`,,`,`,,`- --TABLE PE Basic Requirement of Polyethylene PlasticsGroupDescriptionClassDescription GradeFlow Rate, D 1238,g/10 minTensile Stress at Yield,D 638, min, MPaNominal Strain atBreak, D 638, min, %Flexural Modulus at2 % Strain, D 790,min, MPa1 Branched1low density1>25870100..2>10 to >1 to ..4> to ..5to density1>25840200..2>10 to 251150200> >1 to 101170200..4> to 111200250..5to density1>2510300300..2>10 to >1 to 1010300350..4> to 110400350..5to density1>251490500..2>10 to 2514100500> >1 to 1014100550..4> to 115200600..5to density1>251710400..2>10 to 251750400> >1 to 1018200450..4> to 119400500..5to density1>252410500..2>10 to 252410600> >1 to 102530800..4> to 128300900.

10 5to Table A Detail Requirements for Polyethylene PlasticsDesignation Or-der NumberPropertyCell Limits01234567891 Tensile Stress at Yield, Test Method D 638, MPa, minunspecified481216213035..specify value2 Nominal Strain at Break, Test Method D 638, %, minunspecified25502004006008001000..spec ify value3 Secant Flexural Modulus at 2 % Strain, D 790, MPa, minunspecified501002004006008001000..spe cify value4 Thermal stress-crack resistance,D 2951, hours without crack-ing, minunspecified244896168..specify value5 Environmental stress-crack resistance,D 1693, min F50, hunspecified2448961683366721008..specify valueCell Table B Detail Requirements for Polyethylene PlasticsDesignation Or-der NumberPropertyCell Limits01234567891 Tensile Stress at Yield, D 638, MPa, minunspecified481216213035..specify value2 Nominal Strain at Break, D 638, %, minunspecified25502004006008001000.