4.1 Certain rubber articles, for example, seals, gaskets, hoses, diaphragms, and sleeves, may be exposed to oils, greases, fuels, and other fluids during service. The exposure may be continuous or intermittent and may occur over wide temperature ranges.

4.2 Properties of rubber articles deteriorate during exposure to these liquids, affecting the performance of the rubber part, which can result in partial failure.

4.3 This test method attempts to simulate service conditions through controlled accelerated testing, but may not give any direct correlation with actual part performance, since service conditions vary too widely. It yields comparative data on which to base judgment as to expected service quality.

4.4 This test method is suitable for specification compliance testing, quality control, referee purposes, and research and development work.

1.1 This test method covers the required procedures to evaluate the comparative ability of rubber and rubber-like compositions to withstand the effect of liquids. It is designed for testing: (1) specimens of vulcanized rubber cut from standard sheets (see Practice D3182), (2) specimens cut from fabric coated with vulcanized rubber (see Test Methods D751), or (3) finished articles of commerce (see Practice D3183). This test method is not applicable to the testing of cellular rubbers, porous compositions, and compressed sheet packing, except as described in 12.2.2.

1.2 Periodically, it is necessary to produce a new lot of an IRM oil to replace the dwindling supply of the current product. The Chairman of the subcommittee shall have the authority to approve the production of a replacement lot. Once produced, the technical data of the new lot shall be presented, in a comparative fashion, to that of the existing lot and balloted upon by the membership of the D11.15 subcommittee and, either subsequently or concurrently, balloted upon by the membership of the D11 main committee for approval to release the new lot for distribution.

1.3 In the event that an IRM oil becomes unavailable for distribution due to depletion, the Chairman of the subcommittee shall have the authority to approve production of a new lot and, after a meeting of the task group, regularly scheduled, or not, to release a quantity of the product for distribution sufficient enough only to address a backlog. Once the backlog is addressed, the process described in 1.2 shall be followed.

1.4 ASTM Oils No. 2 and No. 3, formerly used in this test method as standard test liquids, are no longer commercially available and in 1993 were replaced with IRM 902 and IRM 903, respectively (see Appendix X1 for details).

1.5 ASTM No. 1 Oil, previously used in this test method as a standard test liquid, is no longer commercially available and in 2005 was replaced with IRM 901; refer to Table 1 and Appendix X3 for details.

1.6 ASTM No. 5 Oil was accepted into Specification D5900 as an industry reference material in 2010 and designated as IRM 905. The composition, and properties of this immersion oil were not changed and the data in Table 1 remains current. Refer to Appendix X4 for other details.

1.7 The specifications and properties listed in Table 1 for IRM 901, IRM 902, IRM 903, and IRM 905 are also maintained in Specification D5900.

1.7.1 The subcommittee responsible for maintaining Test Method D471, presently D11.15, shall review the data in Specification D5900 to ensure that it is identical to that which appears in Test Method D471. This shall be accomplished at the time of the 5 year review or more frequently when necessary.

1.8 Historical, technical, and background information regarding the conversion from ASTM No. 1, ASTM No. 2, and ASTM No. 3 Oils to IRM 901, IRM 902, and IRM 903 immersion oils is maintained in Practice D5964.

1.8.1 The subcommittee responsible for maintaining Test Method D471, presently D11.15, shall review the data in Practice D5964 to ensure that it is identical to that which appears in Test Method D471. This shall be accomplished at the time of the 5 year review or more frequently when necessary.

1.9 This test method includes the following:

Change in Mass (after immersion)

Section 11

Change in Volume (after immersion)

Section 12

Dimensional-Change Method for Water-Insoluble Liq-
 uids and Mixed Liquids

 
Section 13

Change in Mass with Liquid on One Surface Only

Section 14

Determining Mass of Soluble Matter Extracted by the
  Liquid

 
Section 15

Change in Tensile Strength, Elongation and Hardness
 (after immersion)

 
Section 16

Change in Breaking Resistance, Burst Strength, Tear
  Strength and Adhesion for Coated Fabrics

 
Section 17

Calculation (of test results)

Section 18

1.10 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard. The values in parentheses are for information only.

1.11 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.