ASTM_E_2015_-_04_2014.pdf

Designation:E201504(Reapproved 2014)Standard Guide forPreparation of Plastics and Polymeric Specimens forMicrostructural Examination1This standard is issued under the fixed designation E2015;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()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 This guide covers recommended procedures and guide-lines for the preparation of plastic and polymeric specimens formicrostructural examination by light and electron microscopy.1.2 This guide is applicable to most semi-rigid and rigidplastics,including engineering plastics.This guide is alsoapplicable to some non-rigid plastics.1.3 The procedures and guidelines presented in this guideare those which generally produce satisfactory specimens.Thisguide does not describe the variations in techniques required tosolve individual problems.1.4 Many detailed descriptions of grinding and polishing ofplastics and polymers are available(1-7).21.5 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:3D883 Terminology Relating to PlasticsE3 Guide for Preparation of Metallographic SpecimensE7 Terminology Relating to Metallography3.Terminology3.1 Definitions:3.1.1 For definitions used in this guide of terms directlyrelated to metallography,refer to Terminology E7.3.1.2 For definitions used in this guide of terms directlyrelated to plastics and polymers,refer to Engineering MaterialsHandbook,Vol 2(8)and Terminology D883.3.1.3 plastic(s)a material that contains as an essentialingredient one or more organic polymeric substances of largemolecular weight;is solid in its finished state;and at somestage in its manufacture or processing into finished articles,canbe shaped by flow.3.1.4 polymer(s)a substance consisting of molecules char-acterized by the repetition(neglecting ends,branch junctions,and other minor irregularities)of one or more types ofmonomeric units.4.Significance and Use4.1 One of the fundamental objectives of microstructuralexamination of manufactured materials,especially plastics andpolymers,is to gain a more complete understanding of therelationships between the manufacturing processes,the micro-structure and texture of the material,and the products perfor-mance(that is,physical,optical,or mechanical properties,orcombination thereof).Under nearly all conditions,the properselection and preparation of the specimen are of major impor-tance.4.2 Because of the wide range of available equipment;physical,chemical,and mechanical properties of materials;andthe personal element,specimen preparation is an art basedupon scientific principles.However,like metallographic speci-men preparation,certain methods,practices,and procedurescan be used to routinely produce acceptable quality plastic andpolymeric specimens for microstructural examination.Accept-able quality means:4.2.1 The observed microstructure is free of thermal,mechanical,and chemical alterations,artifacts,damage,ordefects resulting from the specimen preparation process.4.2.2 A surface finish appropriate for the microscopicaltechniques to be used.4.2.3 The microstructure is reproducibly displayed for agiven specimen.4.3 The mounting,sectioning,grinding,and polishing pro-cedures in this guide may introduce thermal,mechanical,andchemical stresses on the material being prepared for micro-structural examination.Thus,knowledge of the materials1This guide is under the jurisdiction ofASTM Committee E04 on Metallographyand is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E04.01 on Specimen Preparation.Current edition approved Oct.1,2014.Published December 2014.Originallyapproved in 1999.Last previous edition approved in 2009 as E2015 04(2009).DOI:10.1520/E2015-04R14.2The boldface numbers in parentheses refer to the list of references at the end ofthis standard.3For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 physical,mechanical,and chemical properties is of importancein selecting the most appropriate technique(s)to reveal its truemicrostructure and to minimize the total number of stepsneeded to produce high quality polished specimens.4.4 The general guidelines presented below will need to bemodified for each type of plastic or polymer to be prepared.Table X1.1 presents general procedures for preparing plasticsand polymers.Tables X1.2-X1.5 pre