Investigations of electrical methods for evaluating and producing degradation in plastics

The electrical investigation described in this report is part of a study of the deterioration of organic materials for the Signal Corps. Communication wire designated WD-1 uses polyethylene as an insulating material protected by an outer jacket of nylon. Until the present time, the resistance of nylon to deterioration by climatic factors was measured by outdoor exposure of specimens of the wire at the Coles Signal Laboratories in New Jersey. This required many months of aging. It was the purpose of this investigation to determine the factors contributing to the degradation of nylon and other organic materials, and to devise an accelerated aging method which would simulate outdoor aging.