Whenever products and materials spend extended periods of time in a humid environment, various types of breakdowns can be expected. Coatings can fail. Electronic and optical equipment degrade. Fuels break down. The list of failures is extensive. Among other objectives, NTS will test your product for humidity effects in the following categories:
Oxidation and/or galvanic corrosion of metals
Chemical or electrochemical breakdown of organic and inorganic surface coatings
Changes in friction coefficients, resulting in binding or sticking
Swelling of materials due to absorption effects
Degradation of electrical and thermal insulating characteristics
Delamination of composite materials
Change in elasticity or plasticity
Degradation of hygroscopic materials
Degradation of explosives and propellants by absorption
Degradation of optical element image transmission quality
Degradation of lubricants
Changes in thermal transfer characteristics
Mechanical problems (e.g. paper feed on copiers)
NTS Capabilities
While many of the test items may be small (e.g. material samples, microcircuits and optical devices), at times, an entire assembly or a complete product need testing. The military may want to test a missile that is often stored in a humid environment or a car manufacturer will test a vehicle that may operate in the tropics.
Long term economical testing of components
Typical humidity tests run for at least five 48-hour cycles. National Technical Systems is ready with small humidity temperature chambers for long term economical testing of components or with walk in chambers up to 15"x25"x25". Should you need to operate the equipment throughout the test, some of our chambers employ heat exchangers for cooling, providing safe environment for technical personnel. We will meet all applicable humidity test standards including any variations of temperature and humidity.
Specifications
Telcordia; RTCA/DO-160, ASTM A 380/QQ-P-35, WS 16198, BAC 5751, MIL-STD-753, 810 and others.
We also have a great deal of experience in assisting with designing a set of parameters to meet your individual research or production needs.