Plastics Application Design and Development Center

Grupa Kapitałowa Grupa Azoty

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Plastics Application Design and Development Center of Grupa Azoty S.A. with PCA Accreditation Certificate

The activities of the Plastics Application Design and Development Center include the plastics product development offered by the Plastics Business Unit in Tarnów and laboratory services in the field of specialist research and analysis of plastics.

In particular, activities are focused on:

designing and testing of plastics according to customer’s requirements,
service support for the customer from the product enquiry to the final material application,
supporting customer with technical knowledge in material selection, processing and application,
offering new innovative materials.

As part of our laboratory services, the Center provides quality control of plastics, assessing compliance with the requirements of various industries including automotive, rail transport, construction and others.

Based on experienced specialist staff and a wide range of equipment for plastics testing and processing, the Centre offers numerous methods of testing and analysing engineering plastics, in particular polyamides (PA), as well as other plastics (POM, PC, PE, PP, ABS, PBT, PET and others), both raw materials (granules, powders) and the products produced from them.

The highest quality of provided services is confirmed by the PCA Accreditation Certificate No. AB 1907 for compliance with the PN-EN ISO/IEC 17025:2018-02 standard for selected research methods.

SCOPE OF ACCREDITATION FOR TESTING LABORATORY

ACCREDITATION CERTIFICATE

The Center regularly participates in international proficiency tests, that confirms the high level of obtained test results.

The Center also operates on the basis of a certified Integrated Management System of Quality, Environment and Safety according to ISO 9001, 14001, 45001 and the IATF 16949 automotive standard is being implemented.

1. Preparation of test piecesSee more

by injection moulding,
by machining from products, e.g., injection moulded piece or extruded products,
by cutting specimens using a manual press and dies from flat products: plates, sheets, foils, as well as from thermoplastics and elastomers.

2. Physicochemical propertiesSee more

relative viscosity and viscosity number of the polyamide solution,
specific density,
ash content (glass content, fillers – accredited methods),
water content by coulometric method,
water absorption.

3. Thermal propertiesSee more

DSC - Differential Scanning Calorimetry - determination of thermal properties of plastics: melting and recrystallization temperature (accredited methods), enthalpy of melting and crystallization and glass transition temperature, specific heat, crystallization time,
TGA – Thermogravimetric Analysis – determination of thermal stability of polymeric materials, determination of chemical composition, determination of thermal resistance,
TMA - Coefficient of Thermal Expansion,
Vicat Softening Temperature,
HDT Heat Deflection Temperature.

4. Colour and glossSee more

determination of the colour parameters of plastics and the total colour difference ΔE in the CIE Lab system or other, whiteness index, yellowness index,
determination of light transmittance HAZE,
testing the gloss of the surface of products.

5. Mechanical properties of plastics and plastic productsSee more

mechanical properties in static tension,
mechanical properties in bending,
mechanical properties in compression,
impact strength with and without notch,
hardness,
processing and secondary shrinkage of test pieces.

6. Flammability of plasticsSee more

resistance to heat and ignition temperature with glowing/hot wire,
horizontal and vertical flammability according to various standards,
oxygen index.

7. Electrical/electrotechnical propertiesSee more

specific surface and volume resistivity of electrical insulating materials,
charge decay time after electrification (antistatic properties of the material),
Comparative Tracking Index (CTI) of an insulating material.

8. Rheological propertiesSee more

mass and volume flow rate (MFR; MVR – accredited methods),
rheological flow curves.

9. Identification testsSee more

identification of the polymer type using the following methods: FTIR, TG, DSC (accredited method),
determination of filler content (mineral compounds, glass beads, glass fibre – accredited methods and carbon black, carbon fibre, etc.),
identification of plastics additives using the following methods: DSC (accredited method), FTIR, GC-MS, TG, microscopy,
taking microscopic images of surfaces and fractures,
determination of filler size and shape using microscopic methods,
examination of structural defects (e.g., aging effects) using microscopic methods.

10. Chromatographic and other tests in terms of regulatory requirementsSee more

determination of compounds extracted from PA6 using the HPLC method, specific migration of caprolactam and oligomers, including compliance with Commission Regulation (EC) No. 10/2011 on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food,
determination of global migration for compliance with Commission Regulation (EC) No. 10/2011 on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food,
determination of specific migration of formaldehyde, melamine, antioxidant (CAS 36443-68-2) using the HPLC method,
determination of substances migration for compliance with FDA requirements,
determination of relative average molecular weight of polymers and molecular weight distribution using the GPC gel permeation chromatography method,
determination of formaldehyde emission (VDA 275),
determination of VOC (VDA 277),
determination of haze (fogging).

11. Ageing testsSee more

ageing in a weatherometer,
thermal ageing,
assessment of the effects of ageing.

CONTACT WITH SUPPORT

Grupa Azoty S.A.: Plastics Business Unit

Plastics Application Design and Development Center

tel.: +48 14 637 22 67; +48 14 637 49 86

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