Properties, Units and Data Listings
Property	Comments	English	Metric	ASTM Test
UL Temperature Index	The maximum temperature below which a material maintains its electrical and mechanical integrity over a reasonable period.	'C/mm	'C/mm	n/a
Vicat softening point	The temperature at which a flat ended needle will penetrate a specimen under a specified load using a unifrom rate of temperature rise.	'F	'C	D1525
Water absorption 24 hours	The percentage of water absorbed by material when immersed in water for 24 hours. Water absorbed in a material chiefly affects its electrical properties.	%	%	D570
Linear mold shrinkage	The difference between size of the part and the size of the mold cavity. Values given are often the average of the range.	in/in	in/in	D955
Izod, notched Lt	The energy required to break a specimen in which there is a V-notch to create an initial stress point, but measured at low temperature (-40'C). The value 999 indicates that the specimen did not break.	ftlb/in	mc/cm	D256
Izod, notched Rt	The value 999 in the tables indicates that the specimen did not break.	ftlb/in	cm/cm	D256
Effect of strong acid	A descriptive notation to indicate the material's performance.	text	text	D543
Continuous service temp.	The highest temperature a material at which can perform reliably in a long term application. Inconsistently defined by manufacturers.	'F	'C	D746
Deflection temperature 66lb/in 264lb/in	The measure of temperature at which a specimen deflects 0.01 inches under a load of 66lbs or 246lb/in	'F	'C	D648
Density	The equivalent property to specific gravity; measured by displacement.	lb/ft	g/cm	D792
Dialectric constant	The ratio of capacity of a condenser made with a particular dialectric material to the capacity of the same condenser with air as the dialectric measured at a frequency of 10 cycles/second.	constant	constant	D150
Dialectric strength	The voltage that an insulationg material can withstand before dialectric breakdown occurs.	V/10	V/mm	D149
Elongation break	The increase in distance between two guage mark at the break point divided by the original distance between the marks. A zero value in the field indicates that it measured less than one.	%	%	D638
Elongation yield	"""""yield point"""""	%	%	D638
Flexural modulus	The ratio within the elastic limit, of the applied stress on a test specimen in flexure to the corresponding strain in the outermost fibers of the specimen.	lb/in	kg/cm	D638
Flexural strength yield	The measured resistance of the material to fracture during bending.	lb/in	kg/cm	n/a
Injection molding pressure	The pressure applied to the cross-sectional area of the molding cylinder.	lb/in	kg/cm	n/a
Processing temperature	An average value is given rather than the temperature range often specified by manufacturers.	'F	'C	n/a
Hardness	The resistance of a material to compression, indentation and scratching.	-	-	n/a
Tensile modulus	The ratio of nominal stress to the corresponding strain below the proportional limit of a material.	lb/in	kg/cm	D638
Tensile strength	The maximum stress that a material can withstand without breaking when subjected to a stretching load.	lb/in	kg/cm	D638
Thermal conductivity	The rate of a heat flow under a steady state condition through unit area per unit temperature gradient in a direction perpendicular to an isothermal surface.	btu in/hr ft 'F	cal cm/cm 'C	D177

Technical Index