DE-102024210821-A1 - Method for evaluating samples of a plastic material formed from a raw material formulation

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for evaluating samples of a plastic material based on a raw material formulation, wherein the raw material formulation is applied to a provided carrier substrate, the carrier substrate being divided into a plurality of grid-like test fields, and the raw material formulation being applied to the test fields in order to obtain a defined and controlled volume of the raw material formulation in each test field on the carrier substrate in an array, thereby forming the samples, and subsequently performing an analysis of the samples in each test field of the array. The samples are subjected to a simulation of environmental conditions through thermal and/or chemical action and/or mechanical abrasion and/or biological degradation, wherein the analysis of the samples is carried out by means of spectral measurement according to ISO 13655 for a change in an L*a*b color space using a spectrophotometer.

Inventors

• Thorsten Neumann
• Silviya Mitkova Boyadzhieva
• Benedikt Dohme
• Gabriele Wittmann

Assignees

• Benecke-Kaliko GmbH

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20241111

Claims (11)

1. Method for evaluating samples of a plastic material based on a raw material formulation, wherein the raw material formulation is applied to a provided carrier substrate, the carrier substrate being divided into a plurality of grid-like arranged test fields and the raw material formulation being applied to the test fields in order to obtain a defined and controlled volume of the raw material formulation in each of the test fields on the carrier substrate in an array forming the samples, and subsequent performance of an analysis of the samples in each test field of the array, characterized in that the samples are subjected to a simulation of environmental conditions by thermal and/or chemical action and/or mechanical abrasion and/or biodegradation, wherein the analysis of the samples is carried out by means of spectral measurement according to ISO 13655 for a change in an L*a*b color space using a spectrophotometer.
2. Procedure according to Claim 1 characterized in that the analysis of the samples is additionally carried out with an FT-IR and/or NIR analysis.
3. Procedure according to Claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the carrier substrate is divided into grid-like test fields with a grid spacing between 100 and 10,000 µm, preferably 500 to 5,000 µm.
4. Procedure according to one of the Claims 1 until 3 characterized in that the support substrate is formed of glass, metal, ceramic, paper, silicon or a polymer.
5. Procedure according to one of the Claims 1 until 4 , characterized in that the application of the raw material formulation is effected by means of a print head.
6. Procedure according to one of the Claims 1 until 5 characterized in that the raw material formulation is provided in liquid or pasty form, in powder form or as an extruded melt and applied to the test fields.
7. Procedure according to one of the Claims 1 until 6 characterized in that the analysis of the samples is additionally carried out with a high-resolution camera.
8. Procedure according to one of the Claims 1 until 7 , characterized in that , after the application of a raw material formulation to an associated test field, the plastic material is formed by drying, irradiation, cooling, gelation and/or cross-linking, and subsequently at least one further raw material formulation is applied to the formed plastic material in order to form a sample of a multilayer composite material in the test field.
9. Procedure according to one of the Claims 1 until 8 , characterized in that 1 femtomol up to 800 micromoles of the raw material formulation is applied per test field.
10. Procedure according to one of the Claims 1 until 9 characterized in that a textile carrier or at least one layer of lacquer is applied directly to the carrier substrate or to the applied raw material formulations.
11. Apparatus for carrying out the method according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a carrier substrate and an application device for applying the raw material formulation to the carrier substrate, wherein the carrier substrate is divided into a plurality of grid-like arranged test fields and the application device is configured such that the raw material formulation can be applied to the test fields in order to obtain a defined and controlled volume of the raw material formulation in the respective test fields on the carrier substrate in an array, forming the samples, and an evaluation device for carrying out an analysis of the samples in each test field of the array is provided, characterized in that the evaluation device is configured to subject the samples to a simulation of environmental conditions by thermal and/or chemical action and/or mechanical abrasion and/or biological degradation, wherein the evaluation device comprises a spectrophotometer for analyzing the samples by means of spectral measurement according to ISO 13655 for a change in an L*a*b color space.

Description

The invention relates to a method for evaluating samples of a plastic material based on a raw material formulation, wherein the raw material formulation is applied to a provided carrier substrate, the carrier substrate being divided into a plurality of grid-like test fields, and the raw material formulation being applied to the test fields in order to obtain a defined and controlled volume of the raw material formulation in each test field on the carrier substrate in an array, thereby forming the samples, and subsequently performing an analysis of the samples in each test field of the array. The invention further relates to an apparatus for carrying out the method according to the invention. In product development and the regular quality control of plastic materials and mixtures of raw material additives, especially in the form of films or sheet materials, the production and evaluation of corresponding samples is indispensable. Currently, in laboratories, corresponding raw material formulations are created by cutting out sample pieces from produced films or sheet materials, for example, on a DIN A5 or DIN A4 scale, or on a pilot plant scale of several meters, and then evaluating them. This allows for the evaluation of, for example, interactions between raw materials, thermal stability, and stability against environmental influences. However, the production of the film or sheet material, which is available as roll material, and the subsequent cutting out of the test samples is very complex and involves a corresponding amount of waste, resulting in high costs. Furthermore, the evaluation of the samples is also very labor-intensive and time-consuming, especially if the individual samples have to be subjected to weathering, for example, to test their stability against environmental influences. The sometimes very complex production of laboratory samples means that identical or comparable conditions cannot be created. Furthermore, statistical evaluation based on the small number of samples, coupled with variations in process characteristics, is difficult. A direct comparison to a standard sample is also not possible with a single sample. The object of the invention is therefore to propose a method of the type mentioned above and a device for carrying out the method, which can be implemented with significantly reduced effort, and/or statistical evaluation and/or comparability of the sample parameters and/or the highest possible degree of automation, in order to reduce the effort, time and costs for the production and evaluation of the samples. To solve the stated problem, the invention proposes a method according to the features of claim 1. The invention further relates to a device for carrying out the method according to the features of claim 11. Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims. The invention proposes that the raw material formulation is applied to a provided carrier substrate, wherein the carrier substrate is divided into a plurality of grid-like test fields and the raw material formulation is applied to the test fields in order to obtain a defined and controlled volume of the raw material formulation in each test field on the carrier substrate in an array, thereby forming samples, and subsequently performing an analysis of the samples in each test field of the array. According to the invention, the samples are subjected to a simulation of environmental conditions caused by thermal (e.g., DIN EN 12280-1:1998) and/or chemical action (e.g., DIN 68861-1/2011 stress group 1B) and/or mechanical abrasion (e.g., DIN EN ISO 5470-2:2021 ) and/or biodegradation, whereby the analysis of the samples is carried out using spectral measurement according to ISO 13655 for a change in an L*a*b color space with a spectrophotometer. In other words, the degradation behavior of different polymer compositions can be evaluated under biological, physical, and chemical conditions. To evaluate the degradation behavior, particularly abrasion and biodegradation, the raw material formulation can be mixed with a dye. A color change in the sample resulting from degradation can then be determined using the method according to the invention. By using detection substances in combination with a spectrophotometer, chemical changes in the test fields can be investigated simultaneously. Various influencing factors, such as the raw material formulation of the sample in relation to aging and/or chemical resistance, can be evaluated and specifically improved. Furthermore, the soiling behavior, the absorption capacity of dyes, or the bleeding of media can be demonstrated. In soiling tests, the resistance of the samples to various processes can be determined by applying the method according to the invention. Soiling and cleaning behavior can be analyzed following treatment with substances such as bleach, ketchup, mustard, curry, wine, iodine, coffee, or vitamin C. Tests can be perf