Southwest Research Institute^® (SwRI^®)  News

SwRI unveils new permeability testing facility

Hydrocarbon emissions from plastic fuel systems to be evaluated

San Antonio -- February 24, 1997 -- Automobile manufacturers are using plastic fuel tanks and fuel system components instead of traditional metal components to accommodate new automobile designs. As a result, state and federal environmental regulations have been enacted because fuel vapor inside can penetrate the plastic tank barrier layer and contribute to regulated evaporative vehicle emissions. To meet testing requirements, Southwest Research Institute^® (SwRI^®)  is building a 2,000 square foot Permeability Test Facility to evaluate hydrocarbon emissions from plastic fuel systems, making SwRI one of the few research and development organizations nationwide capable of performing indoor vehicle fire test and permeability evaluations.

"Car manufacturers are requiring their component suppliers to verify that their products will meet state and federal government standards for permeation," Alex Wenzel, director of the Department of Fire Technology, said. "The Institute is in a unique position to provide component and complete vehicle hydrocarbon vapor emission measurements and a variety of automobile fire performance evaluations."

The SwRI permeability facility houses two sample chambers designed for component or fuel system evaluations of hydrocarbon emission and speciation chromatography. The chamber is capable of variable temperature control from -40 degrees Celsius to 82 degrees Celsius to simulate temperature changes in the environment. A 1,280 cubic foot soak chamber is used to store test samples at 40 degrees Celsius during the performance testing cycle.

Data acquisition, analyzers, and operations are run from a control room within the facility. Durability tests on samples, which can be performed when required, include pressure/vacuum analyses, slosh tests, and vibration evaluations.

The Permeability Test Facility will expand SwRI's services for the automotive industry. Other available services include full-scale emissions testing, vehicle and engine design and development, systems and component testing, emission reduction and qualification analyses, instrumentation development, fluids testing and qualification, materials specification and evaluation, manufacturing technology, and process and safety engineering.

For more information on the fire permeability test facility, contact Deborah Deffenbaugh, Communications Department, Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, Texas 78228-0510, Phone (210) 522-2046, Fax (210) 522-3547.

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