The ageing behaviour of leather

摘要

The most difficult problem of materials science is to make statements concerning the expected life of a material after its conversion into a consumer item. In the case of leather use in high-quality and expensive consumer goods, such as furniture and the automotive sector, periods of three to five years are already expected. Where statements of guarantee are involved, both legal and economic consequences are closely connected. Under these circumstances all manufacturers must know the ageing behaviour of materials used in the manufacture of their products; a statement of guarantee requires an absolute forecast. With leather, this requires an understanding of changes that can take place in the course of time under various conditions (temperature, humidity, light and thermal radiation) and under stresses in-line with consumer use as determined by tensile strength, pressure, friction, scratch, bend etc.