Are your products facing different environmental challenges? Element’s diverse range of accelerated weathering testing services helps ensure that your products and materials meet the expected functionality and lifetime. Assess material durability, performance, and longevity, instilling confidence in your product's performance through Element's expert testing.
What is Accelerated Weathering Testing?
It’s not practical to wait 10+ years to determine if a material or a product is suitable for a real-world environment. Accelerated weathering mimics real-world conditions, providing insights into product performance without the wait.
It can help assess coating and material resistance to potential environmental damage, or the impact of prolonged exposure, minimizing the risk of costly premature failures. Element provides a range of accelerated weathering testing as well as mechanical testing to assess the coating/materials' ability to meet the long-term requirements of a particular environment.
Key Benefits of Accelerated Weathering Testing for You
- Protection Against all Environmental Factors: Our testing methods cover both indoor and outdoor environmental scenarios, so you can be confident your product is fully assessed for various climatic conditions.
- Create Better, More Durable Products: We investigate any imperfections that arise due to testing – from color changes and cracking to corrosion, empowering you to understand how to assess and enhance your product’s durability, quality, and safety.
- Meet Industry Standards: Our tests and evaluations are aligned with global ISO, ASTM, or NACE standards, offering you an audit trail for potential questions or litigation.
- Bespoke Solutions by Experts: Tailor-made projects and solutions designed by our experts to meet your unique project requirements.
- Versatile Materials Testing: From paint, coatings, sealants, fabrics, and automotive components, our accelerated weathering test services evaluate the performance of a wide array of materials.
- Specialists in Coatings Approvals and Performance: Leverage our expertise in accelerated weathering to determine your product's suitability to meet environmental impacts.
Realistic Simulation for Faster Results
With specialized environmental equipment such as salt sprays, UV cabinets, and environmental chambers, accelerated weathering brings you valuable performance information faster than waiting for real-world data. It allows you to make informed decisions for reliable and long-lasting products and determine their resilience against the natural forces they will encounter throughout their lifetime.
Time-Saving All-in-One Material Testing Efficiency
Beyond standard accelerated weathering tests like UV, Xenon Arc, and Carbon Arc, we offer diverse tests, including Paint and Coating Testing, Salt Spray, Salt Fog, Corrosion Testing, Chemical resistance, high temperature, and cryogenic exposure. At Element, we address all your material challenges in one place, saving you time and ensuring a thorough evaluation for a deeper understanding of your materials' performance.
“At Element, we work in partnership with our clients to ensure testing performed meets their individual needs. Our experts can help guide clients through the complexities of new and old standards and assist in designing test programs. With our centers of excellence, we offer a one-stop shop for your testing needs.”
Stuart Sharman
Technical Manager
Our Accelerated Weathering Testing Capabilities
Element offers a full range of accelerated laboratory testing services, including but not limited to:
- Salt spray (neutral (NSS), acetic acid (AASS), and copper accelerated (CASS)
- UV testing which can include pure UV, set temperature, condensation, and water spray control
- Xenon which can include pure xenon, humidity, temperature control
- Xenon Arc - ideal for applications where high-quality finishes in paints and coatings are crucial, especially when facing elevated levels of UV degradation
- Carbon Arc - evaluates a product's resistance to deterioration in electrical, mechanical, and optical properties when exposed to light and heat
- Climate chambers to control temperatures and humidity and can be set to various levels and ramp rates
- Cathodic disbondment both impressed and sacrificial anode
- Immersion in various fluids
- Pre-fire testing accelerated weathering (Hydrocarbon and Cellulosic)
- Cryogenic exposure
- Thermal exposure
Why Choose Element?
Element is ISO 17025 accredited with testing on scope from accreditation bodies in various geographic locations, (UKAS – UK, RvA – Netherlands, A2LA – USA).
We operate a global network of fully equipped laboratories in the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia providing a wide range of accelerated weathering testing and more. Our Amsterdam center of excellence offers most of the industry-required weathering testing as well as mechanical, analytical, and electrochemical tests, positioning us as your single source provider for all your testing requirements.
Backed by many years of accelerated weathering testing experience, we will ensure your products are tested to the highest standards, and meet and exceed industry benchmarks, enhancing your brand's credibility for a competitive edge.
At Element, we're not just about testing; we're about ensuring your products stand the test of time.
To learn more about Element’s credentials, please visit our About Us page. Contact us today to experience excellence in accelerated weathering testing tailored to your unique needs.
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Automotive Weathering
Find out about Element's automotive weathering testing services for materials and components, including a plethora of different tests, from UV light to xenon arc and carbon arc.
Carbon Arc Testing
Element provides carbon arc testing on plastics, paints and coatings as well as other accelerated weathering testing methods to qualify new materials and determine their durability.
Xenon Arc Testing
Element is at the cutting edge of accelerated exposure testing, providing xenon arc testing to clients in the textile, polymer, paint, and automotive industries.
Ultraviolet Exposure and UV Testing Services
Element offers accelerated aging and UV weathering testing throughout the United States and in Europe, providing weathering tests on polymers, coatings, metals and small components.
Paint and Coatings Material Testing
Paint and coatings testing is a critical part of product evaluation when assessing material properties. Our Engaged Experts help ensure that you have the correct coatings for your products, helping them withstand even the most extreme environments.
Salt Spray Testing
Find out how our Engaged Experts conduct salt spray testing, or natural salt spray (NSS) to evaluate the integrity of a coating in a corrosive environment or to test the corrosion resistance of a product or material.
Sand and Dust Testing
Find out about Element’s sand and dust testing services to assess your product performance when exposed to desert sand and dust.
Thermal Analysis (DSC, TMA, DMA, TGA)
Thermal analysis methods measure mechanical changes under differing temperatures and loads, and can pinpoint when and at what temperature significant thermal events occur.
Thermal Shock Testing
From routine testing to complex, custom projects, our experts support test protocol development and specification selection for multiple types of mechanical shock testing.
Vibration Testing
Find out how Element's vibration testing services help to make certain that the products we test for our customers will perform safely and as expected when in the field.
Ingress Protection Testing
Element utilizes calibrated IP testing equipment, including immersion tanks, nozzles, and dust specific to the IP rating required.
Fire Testing
Find out about our capabilities in fire resistance and reaction to fire testing across the aerospace, automotive, construction, furniture, marine and rail sectors.