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Environmental or climatic testing can be used to simulate the real world conditions in which products will actually be operating, in order to pass certification standards such as RTCA DO/160, MIL-STD-810, or simply to assess product performance and durability.
Environmental testing involves everything from changes in temperature and humidity, through exposure to salt fog/mist/spray, water ingress, high and low pressures while also being vibrated to simulate everyday use of the product. Environmental testing also helps demonstrate compliance of your products with international regulations, making it easier to access global markets. Environmental testing also boosts trust in your products.
Our multiple chambered facility can accommodate thermal testing from as low as -100⁰C to hot temperature environments of +200⁰C. We can provide ramp rates of up to 10⁰C per minute and we can thermally cycle test items rapidly.
We have chambers to perform combined temperature and humidity cycling, temperature and altitude changes and thermal shock (both manual and automated).
These can simulate a wide variety of environments experienced in industries such as aerospace (high altitude and low temperature) RTCA DO-160, marine (ships, ocean platforms, shore facilities, exposure to salt spray), extremes of desert (high temperature, low humidity), arctic (low temperature, low humidity) and many more combinations.
We are able to provide testing facilities that allow items to be tested while in operation, e.g. powered up or with fluids or air flowing.
Resonate Testing’s facility offers a range of testing to a wide range of industries, for example
High temperature cycling and soak
Low temperature cycling and soak
Thermal cycling with rapid ramp rates
Thermal shock testing
Combined temperature and humidity testing
Altitude testing / Combined altitude and temperature
Salt spray/salt fog and corrosive atmosphere testing
High temperature cycling and soak uses a single chamber system in line with IEC 60068. The ramp rate or transition time is limited by the chambers capability to go from one temperature to another and the thermal mass of the test specimen. The specimen is then held at a stabilised temperature before it makes its next transition. This is the soak time and allows manufacturers to enhance the chances of creating the failure mechanism they are most interested in trying to repeat. High temperature cycling and soak closely correlates to the hot, arid, semi-arid and desert environments in line with DEF-STAN 00-35.
Thermal cycle testing is conducted to identify the failure mechanisms caused by a mismatch in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of materials. It is an accelerated life test used in evaluating product reliability, in addition to catching early-term latent defects by inducing failure through thermal fatigue. Designed to simulate arctic, tundra and exposed environments in line with IEC 60068, MIL-STD-810 and DEF-STAN 00-35.
Temperature Cycling and Rapid Thermal Cycling tests can be achieved across a range of temperatures and transfer speeds. Our chambers are capable of up to 10⁰C per minute ramp rates across a range of temperature profiles. Temperature cycling allows products to undergo accelerated life testing and simulate the changes in temperature experience by products and devices in many environments: aerospace, marine, desert, arctic, tundra and many more areas.
Thermal shock testing is a great tool for determining the resilience of electronic, electromechanical, plastic, and mechanical products that will be deployed in the medical, consumer, aerospace, defence, or automotive industries (think of starting a car in the winter).
Consider the temperature variations the parts of an airplane experience as temperatures change as altitude increases or decreases, or the trauma inflicted on a GPS device used in wilderness terrain by field researchers. The ability of these electronics to function properly is often a matter of life and death.
At Resonate Testing, we will meet the testing requirements by either utilising 2 separate chambers at the extremes of temperature and manually lifting the DUT (Device Under Test) between chambers. We have chambers capable of reaching -86⁰C and +180⁰C.
Our automated Thermal Shock Chamber has 2 chambers:
Hot chamber +60⁰C to +220⁰;
Cold chamber -10⁰C to -80⁰C
Testing at elevated humidity levels (MIL-STD-810, IEC 60068, DEF-SATN 00-35, RTCA DO-160) tests a products resistance to water ingress, absorption and corrosion and measures its mechanical integrity. It also tests if moving elements of the mechanical system suffer from water ingress and if the electrical control system suffers from a moisture-induced short circuit.
Materials, such as composites, plastics and fabrics – such as those used in soft furnishings (blinds, covers, curtains), can also be tested in our chambers to simulate diurnal cycling in humid environments.
To verify products remain operational and durable against the full range of environmental conditions to which they might be exposed, concurrently simulating temperature and altitude can help identify potential failures that may not manifest in each condition tested separately.
Widely utilised in the aerospace industry, testing the combined effects of temperature and altitude on electronic and electromechanical components to ensure their safety, integrity and performance during ground and flight operations. Our altitude chamber can achieve altitudes up to 75,000ft with a temperature range of-70°C to +130°C.
Corrosion typically happens when materials are exposed to an aggressive environment, which results in the degradation of material.
Here at Resonate Testing Ltd., we provide Corrosion Testing in artificial atmospheres in line with BS EN ISO 9227: 2012 using our Salt Spray Test unit.
We also have capability to test to a variety of international standards including RTCA/DO160, ASTM G85 and MIL-STD-810, Method 509 for Salt Fog testing.
Corrosion testing allows the customer to identify materials and coatings that will protect against the degradation of materials exposed to extreme environments. The objective of the testing is to verify that the comparative quality of a metallic materials, with or without corrosion protection, is maintained when exposed to Salt Mist or Salt Spray, reference IEC 60068-2-11 and 52 (Salt Fog Environmental Testing).
Our facility allows testing across a wide range of humidity’s, salinities and temperatures. Using a 5% concentration of NaCl (Sodium Chloride) salt spray or mist with a pH between 6.5 and 7.2 ensures that a wide range of materials and coatings can be tested.
In the automotive industry, requirements are specified under material specifications. Different coatings have different behaviour in salt spray test and consequently, test duration will differ from one type of coating to another. For example, a typical electroplated zinc and yellow passivated steel part lasts 96 hours in salt spray test without white rust.
Electroplated zinc-nickel steel parts can last more than 720 hours in NSS test without red rust. Requirements are established in test duration (hours) and coatings shall comply with minimum testing periods.
Our Salt Spray test facility has a capacity of 2400 litres and allows Salt Spray, Salt Mist and Salt Mist plus cycling testing. Operating to a maximum temperature of 70⁰C and able to achieve 100% RH (Relative Humidity), we provide accelerated corrosion testing of materials allowing comparisons to be made between actual and expected corrosion resistance.
