SPE Course

Environmental Stress Cracking: The Plastic Killer

Thursday, October 10, 2024; 11:00AM–12:00PM EST
Online

Summary

If you deal with plastic components, then “Environmental Stress Cracking of Plastics” will provide you with information that will enhance your understanding of the interaction between chemicals and plastic resins, and help prevent premature failure. Environmental stress cracking (ESC) is a phenomenon in which a plastic resin undergoes premature embrittlement and subsequent cracking due to the simultaneous and synergistic action of stress and contact with a chemical agent. ESC is a leading cause of plastic component failure, and a recent study suggests that 25% of plastic part failures are related to ESC.

The webinar will be presented from a practical viewpoint with actual case studies to illustrate the ESC mechanism and explain plastic performance. Topics covered during this session include:

• Introduction to ESC
• How plastics fail
• Explanation of the ESC failure mechanism
• Generalizations related to chemical interaction with plastics
• ESC resistance testing used to evaluate plastic/chemical compatibility
• Case Illustrations of some common solvent-based failure modes

About Speaker

Jeffrey A. Jansen
Engineering Manager
The Madison Group

Jeffrey A. Jansen is the Engineering Manager and a Partner at The Madison Group, an independent plastics engineering and consulting firm. Jeff is a proven plastic professional with more than 30 years of experience solving problems and addressing opportunities related to polymeric materials. He specializes in failure analysis, material identification and selection, as well as compatibility, aging, and lifetime prediction studies for thermoplastic materials. Jeff has performed over 5,000 investigations, both for industrial clients and as a part of litigation. He is a regular presenter on the SPE webinar series, covering a wide range of topics related to plastics failure, material performance, testing, and polymer technology. Jeff is a graduate of Carroll College and the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

This educational program is provided as a service of SPE. The views and opinions expressed on this or any SPE educational program are those of the Speaker(s) and/or the persons appearing with the Speaker(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Society of Plastics Engineers, Inc. (SPE) or its officials, employees or designees. To comment or to present an opposing or supporting opinion, please contact us at info@4SPE.org.

Refund Policy for SPE Webinars

No refunds are available for SPE Webinars.

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Anti-Trust Statement

1. No discussion among members, volunteers, or staff, which attempts to arrive at any agreement regarding prices, terms or conditions of sale, distribution, volume, territories, or customers;
2. No activity or communication which might be construed as an attempt to prevent any person or business entity from gaining access to any market or customer for goods or services or any business entity from obtaining services or a supply of goods;
3. No activity or communication which might be construed as an agreement to refrain from purchasing or using any materials, equipment, services or supplies of or from any supplier; or
4. No other activity which violates anti-trust or applicable laws aimed at preventing unfair competition.