The Outdoor Performance of Plastic Materials Used as Cable Accessories

Abstract

This paaper shows how plastics materials may be affected by exposure to the outdoor environment. The possible effects of ultra violet light, atmospheric oxygen, moisture, gaseous and solid pollution are discussed in detail. Data obtained from extensive natural and accelerated weathering on a variety of materials demonstrates the practical significance of this information and shows that outdoor performance can vary dramatically between polymers and that even minor changes in the chemical constitution of either the polymer or the incorporated additives can have very significant and often detrimental effects.