This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles

for the
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

Designation: D2126 − 20

Standard Test Method for

Response of Rigid Cellular Plastics to Thermal and Humid
Aging1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation D2126; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
This standard has been approved for use by agencies of the U.S. Department of Defense.

1. Scope* 2.2 ISO Standard:

1.1 This test method covers procedures for the thermal and ISO 2796 Cellular Plastics Rigid-Test for Dimensional Sta-
humid exposure of rigid cellular plastics. Conditions used shall bility3
be agreed upon between the purchaser and the supplier. 3. Terminology
NOTE 1—A list of commonly used exposure conditions is found in 3.1 Terms used in this standard are defined in accordance
Table 1.
with Terminology D883, unless otherwise specified. For terms
1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the relating to precision and bias and associated issues, the terms
standard. The values in parentheses are for information only. used in this standard are defined in accordance with Terminol-
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the ogy E456.

iTeh Standards
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the
4. Significance and Use
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-
4.1 Because of the wide variety of potential uses of rigid
priate safety, health, and environmental practices and deter-
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cellular plastics, artificial exposure to estimate the effective
mine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
behavior of these materials must be based, to a great extent, on
NOTE 2—This test method is equivalent to ISO 2796 in the sampling

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the intended application. Toward this end, this test method is
and calculation sections. It is not equivalent to ISO 2796 in the procedure
section. intended to recommend a variety of conditions from which one
or more of the desired exposure conditions can be selected.
1.4 This international standard was developed in accor-
dance with internationally recognized principles on standard- (Note 3)
ization established in the Decision on Principles for the
ASTM D2126-20
4.2 The conditions recommended in this test method have
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Development of International Standards, Guides and Recom- been widely used in artificially exposing rigid cellular plastics
mendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical and in determining the effects of various temperatures and
Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee. humidities on these materials. Final test measurements are
determined after the specimens return to room temperature.
2. Referenced Documents Where specified, the specimens will be tested at the exposure
2 condition, but must be reported as such.
2.1 ASTM Standards:
D883 Terminology Relating to Plastics 4.3 Dimensional changes measured by this test method can
D1037 Test Methods for Evaluating Properties of Wood- be used to compare the performance of materials in a particular
Base Fiber and Particle Panel Materials environment, to assess the relative stability of two or more
E456 Terminology Relating to Quality and Statistics cellular plastics, or to specify an acceptance criterion for a
particular material. The results of this test method are not
suitable for predicting end-use product performance or
1
characteristics, nor are they adequate for engineering or design
This test method is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D20 on Plastics
and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D20.22 on Cellular Materials -
calculations.
Plastics and Elastomers. NOTE 3—Where thermal shock is known or suspected to occur due to
Current edition approved Dec. 1, 2020. Published December 2020. Originally
rapid heating to (or cooling from) a particular temperature, guidance on
approved in 1962. Last previous edition approved in 2015 as D2126 - 15. DOI:
the permissible heating or cooling rates, or both, shall be obtained from
10.1520/D2126-20.
2
For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or
contact ASTM Customer Service at [email protected]. For Annual Book of ASTM
3
Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on Available from American National Standards Institute (ANSI), 25 W. 43rd St.,
the ASTM website. 4th Floor, New York, NY 10036, http://www.ansi.org.

*A Summary of Changes section appears at the end of this standard

Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. United States

1
 D2126 − 20
TABLE 1 Temperature and Relative Humidity Conditions stant mass at 23 6 2°C (73.4 6 4°F) and 50 6 10 % relative
Temperature, °C (°F) Relative Humidity, % humidity before exposure.
−73 ± 3 (−100 ± 6) ambient
−40 ± 3 (−40 ± 6) ambient 8. Procedure
70 ± 2 (158 ± 4) ambient
100 ± 2 (212 ± 4) ambient 8.1 Make the following measurements after conditioning.
150 ± 2 (302 ± 4) ambient 8.1.1 Mass—Determine mass, when specified, within
23 ± 2 (73 ± 4) 50 ± 5
38 ± 2 (100.0 ± 4) 97 ± 3
0.05 %.
70 ± 2 (158 ± 4) 97 ± 3 8.1.2 Dimensions—Determine the dimensions of the three
other temperatures and humidities selected for individual needs principal axes to the nearest 60.1 %. For standard-size
specimens, make one measurement per dimension at the
approximate center of each face. If larger specimens are used,
the manufacturer of the material concerned.
NOTE 4—The dimensional change of a specimen can vary depending make three measurements of length and width, and five
upon the age of the sample or the length of time between specimen measurements of thickness. If specimens distort, report them as
preparation and the beginning of the test, or both. distorting under the specified aging conditions.
4.4 Before proceeding with this test method, reference shall 8.2 Expose the test specimens conditioned in accordance
be made to the specification of the material being tested. Any with 7.1 in a circulating air oven, humidity oven, or cold box
test specimen preparation, conditioning, dimensions, or testing maintained at one of the combinations of temperature and
parameters covered in the materials specification, or combina- relative humidity shown in Table 1. Care shall be taken such
tion thereof, shall take precedence over those mentioned in this that substantially free air circulation around the test specimens
test method. If there are no specifications, then the default occur.
conditions apply. 8.2.1 Expose the specimen at this condition for 24 h (one
day) 6 1 h, 168 h (one week) 6 2 h, and 336 h (two weeks)
5. Apparatus
6 2 h. Intermediate observations are recommended to serve as
5.1 Balance, capable of weighing, to 0.05 %, a test speci- a guide to full-term performance. A round-robin study has
men having a mass of 100 g or less.
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shown that there is no significant difference between continu-
5.2 Oven, circulating-air, capable of holding the required ous exposure and exposure interrupted for up to 4 h for
temperature of exposure within 62°C (4°F). measuring purposes.
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5.3 Cold Box, capable of maintaining
ture of exposure within 63°C (5°F).
the required tempera-
8.2.2 After exposure, allow the specimens to come to room
temperature for 2 h before measuring and testing.

Document
5.4 Gauge, dial-type, with a minimum
2
foot area of 6.5 cm Preview
(1 in. ) (Note 5). A vernier caliper having graduations not
2
8.2.3 Measure specimen dimensions (and mass, when speci-
fied) as described in 8.1.
8.3 Visual Examination—Record change in general appear-
larger than 0.1 mm (0.005 in.) can also be used. Care shall be ance at each stage of the testing procedure. (Use the terms
ASTM D2126-20
taken that the specimen is not crushed in any way, regardless of defined in Terminology D883 to describe defects.)
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which instrument is used.
NOTE 5—A dial gauge comparator for determining linear variations is 9. Calculation
illustrated in Test Methods D1037. 9.1 Calculate the changes in dimensions (and mass, when
5.5 Humidity Oven, suitable for maintaining 63 % specified), expressed as a percentage of the original
humidity, and the required temperature within 62°C (4°F). measurement, as follows:
6. Sampling, Test Specimens, and Test Units change, % 5 @ ~ m f 2 m o ! /m o # 3 100 (1)

6.1 Test specimens shall be machined or sawed from the where:

sample so as to have smooth edges free of cracks. All faces of mf = final measurement, and
the specimen shall be smooth. Finishing with No. 0 or finer mo = original measurement.
sandpaper is permitted. Dust shall be blown off the specimens.
10. Report
6.2 Test specimens shall have minimum dimensions of 100
by 100 mm by thickness supplied (4 by 4 in. by thickness 10.1 Report the following information:
supplied). Materials with and intended for use with natural or 10.1.1 Description of specimens, including type of material,
laminated skin surfaces shall be tested with skins intact. anisotropy, and history if known,
10.1.2 Specific conditions used,
6.3 A minimum of two specimens, but preferably three or 10.1.3 If two specimens were tested:
more specimens, shall be used for each exposure condition. 10.1.3.1 The individual percentage changes to the nearest
6.4 Where destructive tests are to be made, several sets of 0.1 % of length, width, thickness, and mass (when specified) of
specimens shall be used at the specified conditions. each test specimen at each exposure period.
10.1.4 If three or more specimens were tested:
7. Conditioning 10.1.4.1 The mean percentage changes to the nearest 0.1 %
7.1 Unless otherwise specified, by the contract or relevant of length, width, thickness, and mass (when specified), and the
material specification, condition specimens at least to a con- respective standard deviation at each exposure period.