Accelerated Exposure Testing 

Accelerated exposure testing has become increasingly important in qualifying new materials and designs and in determining the long-term reliability of electrical and non-electrical products. Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) offers a full range of testing services for evaluating lifetime exposures.

Capabilities

• Continuous monitoring of temperature, humidity, weight gain, and gas concentrations

• Single or multi-component gas exposures including chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ozone, and others

• Development of custom tests for applications such as metal corrosion and protective coatings

• Atmospheric exposure testing of equipment for a wide range of items from the telecommunications and electronics industries

• Complete engineering and testing services for Telcordia’s Network Equipment Building System (NEBS) compliance protocol

Variables such as temperature, humidity, corrosive salt solution, and ultraviolet radiation can be programmed dynamically to test requirements.

Testing Standards

• American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
• Telcordia (Bellcore)
• European Telecommunications Standardization Institute (ETSI)
• Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA)
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
• Uniform Building Code for the International Conference of Building Officials Evaluation Service (ICBO ES)

• American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

• International Engineering Consortium (IEC)
• Underwriters Laboratories (UL)
• Deutsche Norm (DIN

A process control system developed at SwRI constantly collects environmental test data for real-time analysis and testing.

Facilities

• Test chambers for simulating lifetime exposure of equipment in an environmentally controlled corrosive atmosphere
• Chambers designed and calibrated per ASTM B-827-97, Mixed Flowing Gas Test
• Multiple chambers to accommodate test items from <1 ft to 8 ft in height and <1 ft to 5 ft in width

Additional Capabilities

• Natural environments simulation
• Corrosion evaluation and mitigation technologies
• Thermal stability testing
• Thermal analysis and laboratory validation
• Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) evaluation>
• Structural analysis and verification
• Materials research and evaluation
• Fire performance evaluation
• Fire testing
• Electrical measurement
• Laboratory earthquake simulation
• Vibration testing
• Component design
• Failure analysis
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC) compliance testing

SwRI has developed a gaseous contaminants facility to test a wide range of materials and their ability to withstand exposure to atmospheric and industrial airborne pollutants on pollutants.

Accreditations

• SwRI is certified by Verizon Communications as an independent testing laboratory (ITL) for performing NEBS testing.
• SwRI is accredited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL), which includes testing and third-party quality assurance services.

• The Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Division is ISO 9001:2000 and ISO Guide 25 certified.

For additional information about Telecommunications Equipment Evaluation, please visit www.telecom.swri.org.

For additional information about Corrosion Science and Engineering, please visit www.corrosion.swri.org.

This flyer was published in June 2007. For more information about Accelerated Exposure Testing, contact Kevin Shannon, Senior Research Scientist, Phone (210) 522-3041, Fax (210) 522-3649, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, Texas 78228-0510.

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