Weathering effects on the fracture properties of polyvinyl chloride pipes

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes were weathered naturally for periods of up t o two years. The effect of weathering on the mechanical properties was inve stigated by compressing unnotched and radially notched ring specimens in a parallel-plate test. Disregarding the scatter existing among the test resul ts, the general trend indicates deteriorating fracture properties due to ex posure. The application of fracture mechanics concepts, explicitly the J-in tegral value, to the test results helps to reveal the susceptibility of wea thered PVC pipe material to brittle fracture compared to its as-received co ndition.