ASTM D4674 - Standard Practice for Accelerated Testing for Color Stability of Plastics Exposed to Indoor Office Environments:
ASTM D4674 is a standard for evaluating the color stability of plastics under typical indoor office conditions. It aims to induce property changes associated with exposure to light and heat, excluding damage caused by local phenomena such as handling or dirt contamination. Implementing this standard in testing allows manufacturers and laboratories to understand the long-term behavior of different types of plastics in typical office environments, which is crucial for the design, manufacturing, and use of plastic products.
This standard involves methods where specimens are exposed to fluorescent light under controlled environmental conditions. There may be variability in results due to differences in the spectral distribution of the lamps used and variations in irradiance for a specific lamp type. Therefore, any reference to the use of this practice must be accompanied by a detailed report describing the method used.
Good reproducibility of test results has been found when comparing the performance ranking of materials among different laboratories. It is recommended to test a material of known performance concurrently as a control. At least three replicates of each material should be exposed for statistical evaluation of results.
Specimen preparation and evaluation of results are guided by ASTM D4674 and refer to other ASTM methods for specific materials. More detailed information on methods for determining property changes after exposure and reporting these results is provided in other practices, such as Practice G151 and ASTM D5870.