Evaluation of long-term stability and degradation on polycarbonate based plastic glass

Abstract

Polycarbonate (PC) is mainly used as plastic glass in the industrial field. PC has many advantages such as light weight and high impact strength as compared to inorganic glass. However, the long-term stability of PC through the service life has not been fully examined. The authors analyzed the degradation behavior of PC glass through long-term artificial weathering conditions. The PC glass became yellowish through artificial weathering; however, the mechanical strength, for example, the flexural strength and the impact strength, were sufficient for its use as actual window glass of the public transportation. Moreover, improved PC is expected to have a longer service life as compared to ordinary PC. In addition, the evaluation of the degradation of PC-based plastic glass was studied with use of color measurement.

Oxidation and fragmentation of plastics in a changing environment; from UV-radiation to biological degradation

“…1 ). With diffusion-controlled oxidation that occurs in moulded or extruded plastic products, a highly degraded surface layer several hundred microns thick can be obtained in laboratory accelerated weathering ( Andrady et al, 2022 ; Nagai et al, 2005 ; Ito et al, 2015 ). A similar layer is apparent in field collected plastics as well ( Andrady et al, 2022 ).…”

Design of an Architectural Element Generating Hydrogen Energy by Photosynthesis—Model Case of the Roof and Window

“…The lifetime of the main body of the PSII panel will be determined by the polycarbonate and the fuel cell. It is known that the lifetimes of the polycarbonate and the fuel cell are about 15 years [41] and 4.6 years (40,000 h), respectively [42,43]. These values are longer than that of the estimated EPT.…”