Submission of Papers

The entire publication process for Polymer Testing is handled electronically, which shortens publication times. All papers should be submitted electronically through: http://ees.elsevier.com/pote. Please read the "Hints" for information on how to register, and review the "Tutorial for Authors" for a run through of the submission process. Please upload only Word or rtf text files and upload the figures separately. If you need any further help, do not hesitate to contact our Author Support Department at: authorsupport@elsevier.com

All papers are to be submitted in English and will be independently refereed.

Submission of a paper implies that it has not been published previously, that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, and that if accepted it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the publisher.

Types of Contributions
Original papers; short communications; equipment and test method evaluations; review articles; reports of conferences and exhibitions; book reviews; letters to the Editor.

Manuscript Preparation
Generally the size of the manuscript should not exceed 6000 words or 12 printed pages. The corresponding author should be identified (include a Fax number and E-mail address). Full postal addresses must be given for all co-authors.

Language and Style: Manuscripts should be written in English in a clear and concise manner. Authors should if possible, consult a recent issue of the journal for the style to be followed. The Editor reserves the right to adjust style to certain standard of uniformity.

Authors whose native language is not English should have the spelling, grammar, and style checked by someone fully proficient in the English language. English language help service: Please consult our sponsored services at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/languagepolishing

Abstracts:Each paper should be provided with an abstract of about 100-150 words, reporting concisely on the purpose and the results of the paper.

Keywords:4-6 keywords must be selected by the authors.

Text: Follow this order when typing manuscripts: Title, Authors, Affiliations, Abstract, Main text, Acknowledgements, Appendix, References, Figure Captions and then Tables. Do not import the Figures or Tables into your text. The corresponding author should be identified with an asterisk and footnote. All other footnotes (except for table footnotes) should be identified with superscript Arabic numbers.

Units: The SI system should be used for all scientific and laboratory data; if, in certain instances, it is necessary to quote other units these should be added in parentheses. Temperatures should be given in degree Celsius. The unit 'billion' (10⁹ America, 10¹² in Europe) is ambiguous and should not be used.

Standards:The use of international (ISO and IEC) standard test methods is preferred.

References:All publications cited in the text should be presented in a list of references following the text of the manuscript. In the text refer to references by a number in square brackets on the line (e.g. Since Askeland[1]), and the full reference should be given in a numerical list at the end of the paper.

References should be given in the following form:
1. D.R Askeland. The science and engineering of materials. 2nd ed. Chapman and Hall. 1984

2. A. Stern, F. Asanger, R.W Lang. Creep crack growth testing of plastics. II. Data acquisition, data reduction and experimental results. Polym Test 1998;17(6):423.

3. N. Brown N, X. Lu In: Proceedings of the 12th Plastic Fuel Gas Pipe Symposium, Boston, 1991. p. 128-133.

Tables: Tables should be numbered consecutively, given a suitable caption and each table typed on a separate sheet. Footnotes to tables should be typed below the table and should be referred to by superscript lowercase letters. No vertical rules should be used.

Illustrations: Photographs, charts and diagrams are all to be referred to as "Figure(s)" and should be numbered consecutively in the order to which they are referred. They should accompany the manuscript, but should not be included within the text.
Colour: Where colour figures are required, the author will be charged accordingly (further details of costs are available from Author Services, at Elsevier Ltd). All colour figures will be published free of charge online.

Proofs
Proofs will be sent to the author (first named author if no corresponding author is identified of multi-authored papers) and should be returned within 48 hours of receipt. Corrections should be restricted to typesetting errors; any others may be charged to the author. Any queries should be answered in full. Please note that authors are urged to check their proofs carefully before return, since the inclusion of late corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofs are to be returned to the Log-in Department, Elsevier Ltd, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, UK.

Offprints
Electronic offprints will be supplied free of charge. Paper offprints and copies of the issue can be ordered at a specially reduced rate using the order form sent to corresponding authors after the manuscript has been accepted. Orders for reprints (produced after publication) will incur a 50% surcharge.

Copyright
All authors must sign the "Transfer of Copyright" agreement before the article can be published. This transfer agreement enables Elsevier Ltd to protect the copyrighted material for the authors, without the author relinquishing his/her proprietary rights. The copyright transfer covers the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the article, including reprints, photographic reproductions, microfilm or any other reproductions of a similar nature, and translations. It also includes the right to adapt the article for use in conjunction with computer systems and programs, including reproduction or publication in machine-readable form and incorporation in retrieval systems. Authors are responsible for obtaining from the copyright holder permission to reproduce any material for which copyright already exists.


Author Enquiries

For enquiries relating to the submission of articles (including electronic submission), the status of accepted articles via our Author Gateway ,electronic artwork, Frequently Asked Questions and any other enquiries relating to Elsevier Ltd, please consult the Author Gateway http://authors.elsevier.com.
Authors can keep a track on the progress of their accepted article, and set up e-mail alerts informing them of changes to their manuscript's status, by using the "Track a Paper" feature of Elsevier's Author Gateway.

For specific enquires on the preparation of electronic artwork, consult http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork.

Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, are provided when an article is accepted for publication.