COLLABORATION TO IMPROVE TABER ABRASION TESTING

Traditionally, Taber abrasion testing is carried out to evaluate the wear resistance of Industrial Coatings according to ASTM D4060 Standard. However, as mentioned in the ASTM D4060 standard, “For some materials, abrasion tests utilizing the Taber Abraser may be subject to variation due to changes in the abrasive characteristics of the wheel during testing.” This may result in poor reproducibility of test results and create difficulty in comparing values reported from different laboratories. Moreover, in Taber abrasion test, abrasion resistance is calculated as loss in weight at a specified number of abrasion cycles. However, for example acrylic urethane floor paints have a recommended dry film thickness of 37.5-50 μm. The aggressive abrasion process by Taber Abraser can quickly wear through the acrylic urethane coating and create mass loss to the substrate, which leads to substantial errors in the calculation of the paint weight loss. The implant of abrasive particles in the paint during the abrasion test also contributes to the errors. Therefore, a well-controlled quantifiable and reliable measurement is crucial to ensure reproducible wear evaluation; such as a Tribometer.

Learn more in this months app note: Industrial Coating Scratch & Wear Evaluation