PREFACE

For centuries, the durability of products has been controlled by the properties of natu-
rally occurring materials. The human skills to process them, experience gained over
long periods of observation, and local availability were the major factors in the selection
of a material. Rapid development of polymer synthesis in this century produced a great
variety of new materials which were attractive for producers of finished goods. These
materials offered repeatable quality, ease of processing, and cost effectiveness. The first
trials of these newmaterials did not include much durability testing because, even if the
natural products had not been very durable, there were many ways available to improve
or protect them.
It was soon discovered that the new materials were substantially different and, al-
though they had excellent initial properties, they usually suffered fromlimited durabil-
ity. This has triggered an interest in the prediction of a materials lifetime.
Each new branch of applied science suffers from the same problem of choice in its
infancy stage. This choice is always between the art and the science. The art approach
is always attractive because it makes roomfor immediate activity but seldomoffers per-
manent solutions. The"scientific" approach is slow but fundamental and only on such a
proper foundation can a durable structure be built.
After several decades of fascinationwithnewpossibilities andrandomly discovered
good solutions, it becomes clear that the scientific approach is required. Materials
should not only be durable but also recyclable and these, sometimes conflicting, require-
ments produce an equation which cannot be solved by simple mathematics.
With this background, it appeared that this book could contribute only through ar-
ranging the existing information in some orderly fashion. It is always easier to improve
something if some milestones are properly selected and their position is known. On the
other hand, it is equivalently important to indicate the essential skills required to solve
the problem and this must be done by dividing the multidisciplinary field to its compo-
nent subjects. Finally, it seemed, at the time of writing, that a good inventory of knowl-
edge and methods would also help in the iterative improvement of the current
information by those who are willing to read this book and develop the field further.
This has been the approach of the author. In addition, the precision of studies and
their speed were also important considerations. Were the approaches correct? Was their
execution successful? It will always be difficult to know the answer because many as-
pects in science are a matter of opinion, and the unsurpassed advantage of science is the
variety of these opinions. Their challenge is what makes science prevail.
In selecting topics, every effort was made to emphasize the practical aspects of cur-
rent efforts to produce materials according to agreed expectations. This is why there are
several chapters designed to help the study of currently produced materials in a re-
Preface xiii
sult-oriented fashion. Where these two streams meet is the place in which this book
wants to be - to bring both sides (practice and theory) together.
The author of a bookcanonly deliver informationwhichis already available. There-
fore, I would like to thank the authors of published information for their valuable input
based on which this book was built. Most authors are cited in the book. Also, I would like
to thank many people in Atlas Electric Devices Company who gave me encouragement,
data, and information used throughout the book. Some (but not all) are Randy Bohman,
Margaret MacBeth, and Rudolph Leber who were kind enough to help me in finding re-
quired informationand who also offered their knowledge and assistance indevelopment
of some new methods of testing.
My two friends: Dr. Robert Fox and John Paterson devoted substantial amount of
time to read this book on various stages and offered invaluable suggestions which im-
mensely improved the content.
George Wypych
Toronto
September, 1995
G. Wypych
iv