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Angle‐resolved light scattering from textured injection‐molded plastics
Author(s) -
Ignell Sofie,
Rigdahl Mikael
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.35164
Subject(s) - gloss (optics) , materials science , specular reflection , composite material , polypropylene , surface finish , surface roughness , polycarbonate , reflectivity , light scattering , scattering , polymer , optics , contact angle , copolymer , diffuse reflection , profilometer , coating , physics
With regard to surface appearance, the angle‐resolved light scattering from textured polymeric surfaces was evaluated to link the reflectance properties to measured gloss as well as visually perceived gloss. Bidirectional reflectance distributions were determined by means of a scatterometer and the specimens involved were textured injection‐molded plaques manufactured from three different polymers; an acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene (ABS) copolymer, a polypropylene (PP), and a polycarbonate and ABS copolymer blend (PC/ABS). The influence of color, surface roughness, and angle of incidence on the scattering characteristics was evaluated. An off‐specular reflectance peak was observed for the textured specimens the magnitude of which was clearly determined by the surface roughness and the angle of incidence. The color of the specimens mainly influenced the diffuse reflectance. The results provide a measure of perceived gloss and supported previously reported findings regarding the relevance of the concept of contrast gloss for the gloss characterization of textured polymeric surfaces. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012