Testing and evaluation of mar visibility resistance for polymer films
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abstract
2018 Elsevier Ltd A key aspect of the perceived quality of polymeric materials is their resistance to visible scratch and mar damage. An effective set of testing and evaluation tools is needed for quantitative assessment of scratch and mar damage on polymer surfaces, which is critical for the development of scratch and mar resistant polymers. Mar damage is particularly challenging to quantify because the damage is subtle and is sensitive to imaging techniques, especially for white and transparent samples. In this study, a mechanical procedure for marring white and transparent polymeric films in a reproducible fashion that allows for study of the fundamental materials science is introduced. In the second stage of the process, an optical imaging instrument that exposes the marred films to light in a manner mimicking how our eyes perceive the mar damage is used. Finally, a machine-vision procedure is used for handling the images and quantitatively measuring the visibility due to surface damage. A good correlation is found between the machine-vision and the perceptions of a human panel. This methodology is useful for quantitatively assessing resistance of a sample to mar damage. It can also be used for establishing structure-property relationships between polymer material/surface characteristics and mar damage.
