Document Library

Condensation is an excellent way to simulate the moisture attack that materials experience outdoors. High-humidity condensing environments can be generated in QCT, QUV, Q-SUN and Q-FOG testers. However, not all condensation testing is the same. There...

Sunlight, moisture, and high temperatures are the primary forces which cause the deterioration known as “weathering.” The fast material degradation that occurs at our benchmark exposure sites in Florida and Arizona is a result of the synergistic effe...

This paper provides an overview of extensive research conducted by the Vinyl Siding Institute (VSI) on the development of new test methods for exterior plastic building products. The purpose of the VSI study was to develop an accelerated testing pro ...

Automotive OEMs, coatings material suppliers, and weathering specialists banded together in a series of studies aimed at improving weathering test protocols. After a decade of research, the result is a newly published ASTM test standard, D7869, which...

Reciprocity is the notion that if you increase irradiance in a weathering test, you can decrease your exposure time by a reciprocal amount and still get the same results. Said another way, reciprocity states that the amount of degradation in a weathe...

A new and potentially revolutionary weathering standard has been published by ASTM International. Titled ‘Xenon Arc Exposure Test with Enhanced Light and Water Exposure for Transportation Coatings’, ASTM D7869 is the result of a decade of research by...

Q-Lab offers a new method of performing accelerated weathering tests on coatings that promises better and faster laboratory results.Download File

For many applications it is important to measure how well plastics parts resist degradation and colour change when exposed to temperature changes, moisture, and light – especially ultraviolet (UV) light. Examples include building materials, automotiv...

Understanding how to best protect a plastic part from the effects of weathering needs to include an analysis of several important factors. It should take account of the polymer type, colour and additives. An estimation of what the actual exposure wil...

The basic stresses in weathering are known and quantified. The time a material is stressed and the temperature during UV and water stresses are the primary variables in natural weathering. Reproducing them exactly in the laboratory can provide accele...