Table Of Content+ASCE Manuals and Reports on Engineering Practice No. 66
Structural Plastics
Selection
Manual
Prepared by the
Task Committee on
Properties of Selected Plastics
Systems
of the
Structural Plastics Research Council
of the
Technical Council on Research
of the
American Society of Civil Engineers
Published by the
American Society of Civil Engineers
345 East 47th Street
New York, New York 10017-2398
-This manual, a companion to the ASCE STRUCTURAL PLASTICS DESIGN MANUAL was
prepared under contract with the American Society of Civil Engineers with financial support
of the following organizations:
CIBA-GEIGY Corporation
Morrison Molded Fiber Glass Corporation
PPG Industries
Reichhold Chemicals Inc.
Shell Oil Company
U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories
U.S. Federal Highway Administration
NOTICE
This manual is disseminated under sponsorship of the Department of Housing and Urban De-
velopment, the Department of Transportation, sponsoring industrial organizations, and ASCE.
The United States Government, ASCE, and the industrial sponsors assume no liability for its
contents or use.
The contents of the manual reflect the views of the contracting organization, and do not nec-
essarily reflect the official views or policy of the sponsors. The purpose of the project is to sum-
marize and interpret state-of-the-art information and concepts from various sources. Example
problems and typical properties and behavior are provided only to illustrate engineering con-
cepts. Neither the sponsors nor the contracting organization are responsible for their use in
specific applications. This manual does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.
The United States Government does not endorse products, services, or manufacturers. Trade
or manufacturers' names appear herein only because they are considered essential to the ob-
ject of the manual.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The material presented in this publication has
Main entry under title: been prepared in accordance with generally recognized
Structural plastics selection manual. engineering principles and practices, and is for general
information only. This information should not be used
(ASCE manuals and reports on engineering practice;
without first securing competent advice with respect to
no. 66)
its suitability for any general or specific application.
"Companion to the ASCE structural plastics design
The contents of this publication are not intended
manual"—R iii.
Bibliography: p. to be and should not be construed to be a standard of
Includes index. the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and
1. Plastics—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Structural are not intended for use as a reference in purchase
design—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Structural Plastics specifications, contracts, regulations, statutes, or any
Research Council of the Technical Council on Research other legal document.
of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Task No reference made in this publication to any spe-
Committee on Properties of Selected Plastics Systems. cific method, product, process, or service constitutes
II. Structural plastics design manual. III. Series.
or implies an endorsement, recommendation, or war-
TA455.P5S758 1984Suppl. 620.1'923 85-13536
ranty thereof by ASCE.
ASCE makes no representation or warranty of
Copyright © 1985 by the American Society of Civil Engineers, any kind, whether express or implied, concerning the
All Rights Reserved. accuracy, completeness, suitability or utility of any in-
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 85-13536 formation, apparatus, product, or process discussed in
ISBN 0-87262-475-7
this publication, and assumes no liability therefor.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Anyone utilizing this information assumes all li-
ability arising from such use, including but not limited
to infringement of any patent or patents.
TASK COMMITTEE ON PROPERTIES OF SELECTED
PLASTICS AND SYSTEMS,
STRUCTURAL PLASTICS RESEARCH COUNCIL,
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS
Members of the Task Committee:
F. C. McCormick, Chairman Department of Civil Engineering
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
A. F. Dorris Preform Inc.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Andrew Green Composite Technology, Inc.
Galveston, Texas
R. H. Green Green Engineering Company
Atlanta, Georgia
D. W. Haines Consulting Engineer
White Plains, New York
R. E. Harmon Dick Harmon & Associates, Inc.
Alexandria, Virginia
R. A. Schofield Gibbs and Cox, Inc.
Arlington, Virginia
Alvin Smith U. S. Army, CERL
Champaign, Illinois
J. E. Tepera Fibergrate Corporation
Dallas, Texas
D. E. White Dept. of Housing and Urban
Development
Washington, DC
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MANUALS AND REPORTS ON ENGINEERING PRACTICE
(As developed by the ASCE Technical Procedures Committee,
July, 1930, and revised March, 1935, February, 1962, April, 1982)
A manual or report in this series consists of an orderly presentation of facts on a particular subject, supplemented by an analysis of limitations and
applications of these facts. It contains information useful to the average engineer in his everyday work, rather than the findings that may be useful only
occasionally or rarely. It is not in any sense a "standard," however; nor is it so elementary or so conclusive as to provide a "rule of thumb" for
nonengineers.
Furthermore, material in this series, in distinction from a paper (which expresses only one person's observations or opinions), is the work of a
committee or group selected to assemble and express information on a specific topic. As often as practicable the committee is under the general
direction of one or more of the Technical Divisions and Councils, and the product evolved has been subjected to review by the Executive Committee
of that Division or Council. As a step in the process of this review, proposed manuscripts are often brought before members of the Technical Divisions
and Councils for comment, which may serve as the basis for improvement. When published, each work shows the names of the committee by which it
was compiled and indicates clearly the several processes through which it has passed in review, in order that its merit may be definitely understood.
In February, 1962, (and revised in April, 1982) the Board of Directors voted to establish:
A series entitled ('Manuals and Reports on Engineering Practice,' to in-
clude the Manuals published and authorized to date, future Manuals of
Professional Practice, and Reports on Engineering Practice. All such Man-
ual or Report material of the Society would have been refereed in a manner
approved by the Board Committee on Publications and would be bound,
with applicable discussion, in books similar to past Manuals. Numbering
would be consecutive and would be a continuation of present Manual
numbers. In some cases of reports of joint committees, bypassing of Jour-
nal publications may be authorized.
V
AVAILABLE* MANUALS AND REPORTS OF
ENGINEERING PRACTICE
Number
10 Technical Procedure for City Surveys
13 Filtering Materials for Sewage Treatment Plants
14 Accommodation of Utility Plant Within the Rights-of-Way of Urban Streets and Highways
31 Design of Cylindrical Concrete Shell Roofs
33 Cost Control and Accounting for Civil Engineers
34 Definitions of Surveying and Associated Terms
35 A List of Translations of Foreign Literature on Hydraulics
36 Wastewater Treatment Plant Design
37 Design and Construction of Sanitary and Storm Sewers
39 Sanitary Landfill
40 Ground Water Management
41 Plastic Design in Steel—A Guide and Commentary
42 Design of Structures to Resist Nuclear Weapons Effects
44 Report on Highway and Bridge Surveys
45 Consulting Engineering—A Guide for the Engagement of Engineering Services
46 Report on Pipeline Location
47 Selected Abstracts on Structural Application of Plastics
49 Urban Planning Guide
50 Report on Small Craft Harbors
51 Survey of Current Structural Research
52 Guide for the Design of Steel Transmission Towers
53 Criteria for Maintenance of Multilane Highways
54 Sedimentation Engineering
55 Guide to Employment Conditions for Civil Engineers
56 Subsurface Investigation for Design and Construction of Foundations of Buildings
57 Operations and Maintence of Irrigation and Drainage Systems
58 Structural Analysis and Design of Nuclear Plant Facilities
59 Computer Pricing Practices
60 Gravity Sanitary Sewer Design and Construction
61 Introductory Manual on Computer Services
62 Existing Sewer Evaluation and Rehabilitation
63 Structural Plastics Design Manual
64 Engineering Surveying Manual
65 Construction Cost Control
*Numbers 1, 2, 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 38,43, and 48 are out of print.
vi
FOREWORD—BY ASCE TASK COMMITTEE ON PROPERTIES OF SELECTED PLASTICS AND SYSTEMS
This manual was prepared to supplement and extend the utility of the earlier publication, "Structural Plastics Design Manual." The reader and user
should, therefore, expect to use both publications as references and guides when considering the design of structural components composed of plastics
systems. The intent of the producers of this document was to present information which would be helpful in the selection of the proper material or
combination of materials which would provide those properties (mechanical, physical, thermal, or whatever) upon which design assumptions and
calculations are based. To this end, considerable effort has been made to reference sections of this manual to the Design Manual in order that a unified
approach to a design problem may be achieved.
Because of the continuing and rapid technological advances in the chemical and related structural plastics industries, it has been impossible to provide
complete quantitative data for every material and every process currently in use or under development. Therefore, it behooves the reader to obtain
from materials suppliers or other suitable sources the up-to-date and specific information, particularly cost, which is necessary for the design situation
at hand. It is hoped that this manual, along with the Design Manual, will assist the designer in asking the right questions when first screening available
materials and then making a final selection.
The intent and efforts of those members of the monitoring committee who provided technical information and wise counsel, as well as many hours of
review and consultation, are acknowledged with sincere appreciation for a job well done. The diligence, long suffering and unusual cooperative spirit
throughout the project of the editor and principal author, Robert Nicholls, are also recognized with heartfelt thanks and commendation.
Fred C. McCormick, Chairman
ASCE Task Committee on Properties
of Selected Plastics and Systems
July, 1983
vii
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PREFACE
Scope
This manual is for structural engineers in selecting plastics for the design of load-bearing members such as those used in building construction,
transportation structures and vehicles, process industries, sanitary facilities, and marine structures and vessels.
The STRUCTURAL PLASTICS SELECTION MANUAL is the second of three manuals for structural engineers prepared under the direction of the
American Society of Civil Engineers Structural Plastics Research Council. It supplements the preceding STRUCTURAL PLASTICS CON-
NECTIONS MANUAL. The three manuals are aimed at one of the couincil's primary objectives—to foster the wise use of plastics in structural
applications.
The presentation is directed to engineers, architects, and structural designers familiar with strength of materials and structural design, but without
special knowledge of plastics and reinforced plastics.
The primary objective is to assist designers in identifying candidate materials for specific structural applications and to direct them to sources of supply
and to more specific technical assistance.
The manual has been prepared with an awareness that its usefulness will depend largely upon its simplicity. The guiding premise has been to provide
only information which may be essential to the selection process, and in a format which makes selection as simple as possible. To this end: (a) as much
of the essential information has been condensed into tables, charts, and graphs as possible, (b) their use has been illustrated with examples containing
step-by-step instructions, and (c) less essential and less frequently needed information has been relegated to brief mention followed by references to
other reading, or to the Appendices.
Long term effects of structural plastics—creep and durability—differ significantly from those of concrete, steel, and timber, and must be a major
concern during selection and design. But with plastics to a greater extent than with other structural materials an opportunity exists to optimize design
by focusing on material composition and orientation, as well as on structural member geometry. Some specific questions which the manual addresses
include:
1. What sequence of key steps can be successfully applied to a broad range of structural plastics selection problems?
2. How can the viscoelastic behavior of plastics under various loading and environmental conditions be characterized so that conventional
well-understood engineering methods can easily be used for materials selection?
3. What are the essential non-structural as well as structural characteristics which influence life-cycle costs of plastics? What methods can be
used to make cost comparisons with other structural materials? What are the compatibility limitations in using plastics with other structural
materials?
Since the manual is limited to the selection of plastics for primarily structural (load bearing) purposes, it addresses foamed plastics used in sandwich
panel core construction, but not plastic foams used solely for insulation; it considers the selection of plastics used for structural pipes, but not for pipes
used principally to transport fluids. The manual also does not include the selection of plastics for high rate loading applications, as in some machine
parts, where deformation heating and fatigue properties predominate, although the effects of lower frequency loading, as in bridge structures, are
evaluated. While the manual treats the selection of unreinforced and reinforced structural plastics and foams, it does not include plastics used as
additives to other structural materials, such as polymer-impregnated woods. The manual augments specific sections of the STRUCTURAL PLAS-
TICS DESIGN MANUAL, as indicated by the numerous cross-references.
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