Degradation reactions grouped under the heading chemical attack include oxidation, hydrolysis, halogenation and other reactions. They also include some purely physical interactions between materials and fluids, dominated by the absorption of fluid into the material or vice versa. One particular mechanism described in some detail is acid induced stress corrosion cracking, which is the most frequent cause of premature failure of GRP products, and where the principle degradation reaction is between the fluid and the glass fibres. One case study presented in this report describes the cracking of translucent PVDF piping selected for the transport of dry chlorine gas, due to UV induced dissociation of the molecular chlorine. Several other cases describe the failure of acetal products and components.

During his thirty years with Rapra, Dr. Wright specialised in the failure of plastics materials and products, researching into critical issues of materials durability, such as creep, fatigue and environmental stress cracking. He published around ninety technical papers and three books, and was involved in the diagnosis of some five thousand product failures, making him a leading expert in this field.

A Rapra Review Report provides a concise expert overview of a subject, together with a substantial, indexed collection of references and abstracts compiled from the Polymer Library, which enable the reader to follow up key points in greater depth.