Study on Factors Affecting Weatherability of Polypropylene Materials : Evaluation by Outdoor and Accelerated Weathering Tests

Abstract

Study on factors affecting weatherability of polypropylene materials was carried out with one outdoor weathering test and three accelerated weathering (xenon, metal halide and carbon arc lamps) tests, respectively. The degradations of these materials were highly accelerated with the lowest amount of UV exposure energy in case of the outdoor exposure. It was found that the visible light intensity during irradiations and the existence of talc compound affected the rate of degradation. In addition, it was confirmed that the acid rain accelerated the degradation of PP materials in outdoor exposure.