However, the downside is that plastics age, a fact that was not \u00a0immediately identified because the aging processes occur so slowly that people had grown accustomed to the conveniences of plastics before realizing their temporal limitations. Now, intensified efforts are required to keep these consequences within limits.<\/p>\n Eventually, all plastics deteriorate. . Before this happens, their internal structure changes due to the effects of UV radiation, oxygen, and moisture. Heat and varying mechanical stresses accelerate these processes. The materials yield to external forces and decompose . Continuous varying stresses lead to fatigue. Additionally, variations in mechanical stress within the material, caused by the manufacturing process, gradually even out, a phenomenon often referred to as relaxation. To achieve specific properties, additives are mixed into some plastics. Well-known additives include plasticizers that prevent the material from becoming brittle. These additives sometimes distribute unevenly within the material or escape from it which also contribute to the aging of plastics.<\/p>\n With the goal of delaying deterioration, individual processes are studied. Understanding these processes helps in slowing deterioration. To usefully categorize research findings, a system is needed that distinguishes between chemical and physical deterioration as well as internal and external deterioration. Defining these terms is challenging because these processes often occur simultaneously, influence each other, and sometimes cannot be clearly separated. Reliable results can only be obtained based on practical experiments. In long-term studies, material samples are exposed to weather conditions or other stresses to observe the progression of deterioration. The slow progression of material deterioration hinders rapid insights. Employing artificial deterioration methods, which create higher stresses on the material than those experienced in real time, provide a solution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n All plastics consist of macromolecules. Depending on the type of plastic, the individual atoms form either long or branched chains. These long-chain molecules are either entangled with each other or lie stretched out side by side. The behavior of a specific plastic \u00a0is determined by these structures and the chemical properties of the individual molecules. Chemical processes lead to the breakdown of these macromolecules. Light, especially UV light, impacts these chains from the outside, breaking them apart. Water, nitrogen, and oxygen from the atmosphere penetrate the material and either form new chemical bonds with the fragments or cause the existing fragments to react with one another. . This often results in the detachment of small molecules such as water, hydrogen chloride, or nitrogen compounds, which gradually migrate out of the material and escape into the environment. These processes result in the loss of mechanical strength or embrittlement and eventually lead to crumbling.<\/p>\n Even if the composition of the macromolecules is preserved, environmental influences and areas of different structure or stress distribution within the material contribute \u00a0to the aging of plastics. Naturally, nature always strives for equilibrium. Artificially created materials disturb these balances, and nature attempts to restore them. Additionally, changes in temperature and the application of mechanical forces in plastic parts create mechanical stresses that alter the structure. The penetration of water and other substances disrupts the cohesion of the material because they deposit between the molecules. Physical aging processes are also driven by very high or very low temperatures, which either embrittle or soften the material. The macromolecules change their shape and cannot return to their original structure.<\/p>\n Effective measures to delay aging processes must always counteract the causes of these processes. For this purpose, internal and external aging are \u00a0differentiated. Internal changes result from irregularities that occur during the manufacturing of materials. For example, insufficient mixing of components leads to concentration differences and side reactions with disruptive reaction products. During the processing of the material, too rapid \u00a0cooling, and \u00a0significant differences in temperature between \u00a0areas of the material accelerate the aging processes. These relationships must be considered during the manufacturing of plastics. External influences, such as UV light, moisture, or aggressive agents, must be countered during the use of plastic parts. They can be blocked, for instance, by suitable surface coatings. Careful material selection, tailored to the intended use, and consideration of expected temperature and stress distributions in the design of the parts also contribute to delaying material aging.<\/p>\n Four strategies can be followed to reduce the effects of influencing factors:<\/p>\n![\"In](\"https:\/\/kluthe.com\/magazin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Kunststoffteile.jpg\" "\\"In")
What Happens When Plastics Age?<\/h2>\n
Focus on Researching Aging Processes<\/h2>\n
![\"Various](\"https:\/\/kluthe.com\/magazin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Kunststoffe.jpg\" "\\"Various")
Chemical Aging<\/h2>\n
Physical Aging<\/h2>\n
![\"Hard](\"https:\/\/kluthe.com\/magazin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Zahnr\u00e4der.jpg\" "\\"Hard")
Internal and External Aging<\/h2>\n
How to Mitigate the Effects of Influencing Factors on Aging?<\/h2>\n
![\"Chemische](\"https:\/\/kluthe.com\/magazin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/METALL-UND-KUNSTSTOFFLACKIERUNG.jpg\" "\\"Chemische")
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