UNSPECIFIED (2004) The use of thermoelastic stress analysis to identify defects in polymeric materials. INSIGHT, 46 (9). pp. 550-553. ISSN 1354-2575

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Abstract

The work described here emerged from an EPSRC-funded programme investigating the thermomechanical ageing of selected engineering plastics used in the offshore oil & gas industry. The polymers investigated arc PEEK and PEK, materials of the polyaryletherketone family. The latest infrared array thermoelastic camera, coupled with an innovative five-times magnification zoom lens, was used to identify and quantify sub-surface defects in the materials, which had been aged in high pressure gas environments at elevated temperatures. The results were subsequently verified using a scanning electron microscope. The work demonstrates that Thermoelastic Stress Analysis (TSA) is a powerful technique, capable of identifying defects of less than 100 microns in size. The observed defects arise from so-called 'explosive decompression' (ED) damage; here absorbed pressurised gas can cause swelling, blistering and fracturing of non-metallic materials when the external pressure is rapidly reduced. ED is a significant industry issue for sealing elastomers, meaning that thermoplastics receive relatively little research attention.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
Journal or Publication Title:	INSIGHT
Publisher:	BRITISH INST NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING
ISSN:	1354-2575
Date:	September 2004
Volume:	46
Number:	9
Number of Pages:	4
Page Range:	pp. 550-553
Publication Status:	Published
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/8029

Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge

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