[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10590-10591]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04385]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


Service Life Prediction Methodologies and Metrologies for 
Commercial Polymers Consortium

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; request for information.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is 
establishing the Service Life Prediction Methodologies and Metrologies 
for Commercial Polymers Consortium (Consortium) and invites 
organizations to join the Consortium. The Consortium will develop the 
science necessary to support the modification of standards for the 
testing and the certification of commercial polymeric materials. This 
notice is the initial step for the Consortium in collaborating with 
organizations to develop reliability-based service life prediction 
methodology for commercial polymers. The prediction methods will be 
used to update testing standards for polymeric materials in order to 
better assess the level of protection for the consumer while reducing 
the time for evaluation and certification of polymeric materials. 
Participation in the Consortium is open to all eligible organizations 
as described below.

DATES: NIST will begin accepting responses from interested parties on 
March 1, 2016. The collaborative activities under this Consortium will 
begin on March 20, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Information in response to this notice and request for 
additional information can be directed to NIST's Consortium Manager, 
Christopher C. White, NIST's Engineering Laboratory, Polymeric 
Materials Group. Information may be sent by mail to 100 Bureau Drive, 
Mail Stop 8615, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, or by electronic mail to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about 
partnership opportunities or about terms and conditions of NIST's 
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), please contact 
NIST's CRADA and License Officer, Honeyeh Zube, Technology Partnerships 
Office, by mail to 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 2200, Gaithersburg, 
Maryland 20899, or by electronic mail to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The objective of this Consortium is to 
develop the science necessary to support the modification of UL 
Standards for testing and certification of polymeric materials (UL 
Standard Subject Numbers 746A-F), which are under the direction of the 
Standard Technical Panel (STP). More information about UL Standards is 
available at http://ulstandards.ul.com. The activities of NIST's 
Consortium will align the latest knowledge on polymer science with the 
UL Standards that relate to the retention of performance properties 
after long term thermal aging (UL 746B, Safety of Polymeric Materials--
Long Term Property Evaluations) and after exposure to ultraviolet 
radiation and moisture (UL 746C, Standard for Polymeric Materials--Use 
in Electrical Equipment Evaluations). By working with industry, and 
leveraging NIST's existing reliability-based service life prediction 
methodology for commercial polymers, the UL Standards for polymeric 
materials can provide better assessment of the level of protection for 
the consumer and potentially reduce the time for evaluation and 
certification. A better understanding of the effect of thermal, 
radiation, and humidity exposures on polymeric material will allow a 
more expedited process for standards updating, ensure that the 
standards remain current with the advancement of polymers, and drive 
innovation in applications where such environmental conditions exist. 
The STP for UL 746 will have the ultimate responsibility to modify UL 
Standards and introduce new test methods in the polymeric materials 
standards.
    Long-term Thermal Aging: Thermal Indices (TIs) and/or Relative 
Thermal Indices (RTIs): The UL certification program for polymeric 
materials has been very successful at increasing the safety of plastic 
products. The UL certification program relating to thermal performance 
of polymeric materials is based on Dr. Thomas Dakin's proposal in 1948 
to treat electrical insulation deterioration as a chemical rate 
phenomenon. This resulted in the Arrhenius analysis of data from the 
degradation of polymeric materials exposed to multiple temperatures and 
extrapolation to obtain an estimated use temperature. This method, 
while increasing the safety, has also required significant investment 
of time and other resources. For example, a simple formulation change 
to a polymeric compound may require up to eighteen months for 
recertification. This Consortium's first goal is to identify and 
provide the latest available scientific knowledge for methods that 
reduce the time required to obtain a temperature rating while 
maintaining the highest level of safety.
    Exposure to Ultraviolet Radiation and Moisture: UV and Humidity 
Ratings (f1 and f2): This Consortium's second goal is to evaluate 
polymeric materials when simultaneously exposed to UV radiation and 
humidity. Such evaluation techniques attempt to simulate the outdoor 
conditions where these polymeric materials could be used. Currently, 
exposure of polymeric materials to UV and humidity are evaluated 
separately by introducing specimens in a xenon chamber and in a water 
bath to determine the permanence of certain properties (typically 
mechanical and flammability) after these exposures. The specimens are 
not exposed in a manner that simulates simultaneous exposure to 
thermal, radiation and humidity. This Consortium will bring together 
expertise and experimental capabilities to evaluate the practicality of 
existing methods in determining the (f1) and (f2) ratings. NIST intends 
to work with participants of the Consortium in several stages: The 
first stage will focus on thermal-only exposures to support TI and/or 
RTI testing and round robin evaluation of accelerated techniques; the 
second stage will focus on UV and humidity exposures to support (f1) 
and (f2) ratings; and the third stage will

[[Page 10591]]

include simultaneous exposure to UV light, temperature, and humidity. 
To accomplish these stages, NIST and participants intend to perform the 
following tasks:
    1. Identify critical polymeric materials and important chemistries;
    2. Establish the characterization methods for performance tracking;
    3. Generate thermal decomposition data and weathering data indoor 
and outdoor;
    4. Develop thermal decomposition models; and
    5. Develop weathering models based on the indoor data and validate 
the model against the outdoor data.
    Leveraging previous accelerated weathering efforts at NIST allows 
for the use of standardized characterization methods for photo-
oxidation and mechanical performance. Performance characterization 
methods that will be used in this Consortium will be selected based on 
consultation with the participants. The most time consuming aspect of 
this project is generating the validation data from outdoor exposures. 
Outdoor exposure of polymeric materials will occur as soon the 
materials are identified. NIST's Consortium Manager will work with the 
Consortium Members to select outdoor locations. A larger number of 
exposure sites increases the validation of the model predictions for 
the entire United States. The indoor exposure testing using NIST's 
existing weathering devices (i.e., SPHERE) will continue throughout the 
life of the project.
    Participation Process: NIST is soliciting responses from all 
sources, including State or local governments, industrial organizations 
(including corporations, partnerships, and limited partnerships, and 
industrial development organizations), public and private foundations, 
and nonprofit organizations (including universities). Interested 
parties should provide the following information to the NIST Consortium 
Manager:
    (1) What is your opinion about the objectives of the Consortium and 
the proposed involvement of your organization in this Consortium?
    (2) Will your organization be capable of contributing the polymeric 
materials necessary to accomplish the research anticipated by this 
Consortium?
    (3) What is your opinion on the needs and interest of your 
organization in participating in this Consortium?
    (4) What technical expertise is your organization capable of 
providing to the research anticipated by this Consortium (i.e., what 
are the technical capabilities of the individuals on your 
organization's project team)?
    A responding organization should not include any confidential 
information in its response to this request for information. NIST will 
not treat any such information as proprietary. Based on the response 
received, NIST will decide whether the responding organization is 
eligible to participate in this Consortium. The eligibility to 
participate will be based on the following criteria: (1) The 
rationality and feasibility of the responding organization's proposed 
involvement in this Consortium; (2) the extent to which the responding 
organization is capable of contributing its polymer materials and other 
contributions needed from each member of this Consortium; and (3) the 
extent to which the responding organization has personnel that has 
adequate expertise and technical merit to contribute expertise to this 
Consortium.
    NIST has the sole discretion to determine the eligibility of a 
responding organization to participate in this Consortium. Any 
responding organization that is debarred from working with the U.S. 
Government will not be eligible to participate in this Consortium. NIST 
may contact the responding organization for additional information to 
determine eligibility. NIST's Technology Partnerships Office will 
provide eligible parties with the Cooperative Research and Development 
Agreement (CRADA) for this Consortium. Each eligible party will be 
required to execute the Consortium's CRADA prior to participation. Each 
CRADA will have terms that are identical to the terms of other 
participants' CRADAs for this Consortium. NIST will require each 
participant to contribute $15,000 in annual membership fees for funding 
the activities under this Consortium. NIST intends to establish the 
Consortium for a five (5) year period. The terms of the CRADA shall be 
consistent with the requirements of Title 15, United States Code, 
Chapter 63, Section 3710a (Cooperative Research and Development 
Agreements). Although NIST does not guarantee participation in this 
Consortium or future collaboration, any member of the public is welcome 
to contact the Technology Partnerships Office with information about 
NIST-led Consortia or other potential collaborations.

Kevin A. Kimball,
Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2016-04385 Filed 2-29-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-13-P