Accelerated ageing testing Australia
Accelerated ageing involves exposure of the test item to aggravated conditions in order to speed up the normal aging processes of materials or components.
Accelerated ageing testing is usually carried out to provide:
- An estimate of the expected life span of a product
- A quantitative and qualitative comparison between different product, materials, coatings or manufacturing processes under controlled conditions
- Determine long-term effects of expected levels of stress within a shorter timeframe
Testing encompasses a wide range of different stressors such as heat, humidity, pressure, oxygen, sunlight, vibration, corrosive substances, etc.
For details on our capabilities related to heat, humidity, pressure or mechanical testing please follow relevant links below:
In addition to these capacities Austest Laboratories also offers accelerated testing of metallic items through exposure to corrosive environments and non-metallic items through exposure to UV/Solar radiation (in combination with temperature and humidity). Our state-of-the art facilities feature:
- Accelerated ageing facilities in NSW, VIC and SA
- 4 x Xenon-arc solar radiation / weathering chambers
- Testing of 3-dimensional samples
- Accurate reproduction of the complete sunlight spectrum (possible only with Xenon-arc lamps)
- Fully programmable control of irradiation, temperature, humidity and water spray functions
- Diurnal cycle simulation
- Range of filters available (e.g. indoor, window, etc.)
- Compliant with a huge range of IEC, ASTM, ISO, SAE and other standards (see full listing below), including defence specifications MIL-STD-810G and DEF STAN 00-35
- Testing of large volume items (up to 1.5 m3 – unique in Aust.)
- 3 x Narrow-band UV chambers
- UV-A and UV-B
- Cost-effective solution for 2D samples
- 6 x Salt-fog / salt-spray test chambers
- Programmable control of salt-spray rate, temperature and humidity
- Compliant with a wide range of standards such as IEC60068-2-52, ASTM B117, MIL-STD-810G etc.
- Testing of large-size products (up to 5 m3) available
- Comprehensive range of post-testing evaluations including
- Tensile
- Compressive
- Bending
- Impact
- Elongation
- Fading
- Colour change
Austest’s Accelerated Ageing Process