Standard Practice for
Determining Degradation End Point in Degradable
Polyethylene and Polypropylene Using a Tensile Test1

This standard is issued under the fixed designation D 3826; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

1. Scope

1.1 This practice covers the determination of a degradationend point (a brittle point) for degradable polyethylene/
polypropylene films and sheeting less than 1.0 mm (0.04 in.)
thick. This practice is not intended for determination of the rate
of degree of degradation of a polyethylene/polypropylene film
or sheet, but rather, to assess when in the course of its
degradation under some condition, a brittle point is reached. If
one wishes to monitor tensile elongation during the degradation process (such as when the tensile elongation is significantly greater than 5 %), Test Method D 882 is recommended.
This practice should not be considered the only way of
determining a degradation-end point.

1.2 Tensile properties of plastics 1.0 mm (0.04 in.) or
greater in thickness shall be determined in accordance with
Test Method D 638.

1.3 Use a static weighing-constant rate of grip separation
test. This procedure employs a constant rate of separation of
the grips holding the sample and a static load cell.
NOTE 1—This procedure is based on the use of grip separation as a
measure of extension; however, the desirability of using extension
indicators accurate to 61.0 % or better as specified in Test Method D 638
is recognized, and a provision for the use of such instrumentation is
incorporated in the procedure.

1.4 This procedure has been successful for determining the
degradation end point of ethylene-carbon-monoxide copolymers and has screened successfully two other additive-type
polyethylenes in a round robin test.

1.5 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the
standard. The values in parentheses are for information only.

1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

1.7 There is no equivalent ISO standard.

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