A growing number of products and materials are undergoing tests to evaluate the aging process before they are launched in the market. These are not computer-based tests, however, but real-world tests that allow scientists to simulate, over a period of days, the factors to which a product will be exposed for up to 10 years in its life cycle. They often test its durability under extreme weather conditions. The so-called accelerated aging tests allow, for example, checking how the car body will behave when exposed to the sun or rain for years, or a satellite sent into orbit. Such tests are conducted by Polish scientists from the Tele and Radio Research Institute in Warsaw who have cooperated, among others, with the European Space Agency.
“Accelerated aging tests are tests that simulate the conditions to which a product may be exposed during its life cycle. They may represent temperature, humidity, as well as other conditions that affect the quality and performance of a product”, says Marek Kościelski, Manager of Laboratory for Quality Testing and Calibration of Electronic Products in the Łukasiewicz Tele and Radio Research Institute.
Every product, before it is launched in the market, must be properly designed and tested. This stage is very important, as it provides information on, for example, which materials to use and which to avoid. Quality control and R&D teams, however, cannot wait months to see how a product will behave when exposed to prolonged sunlight or high temperatures. But this process may be simulated artificially — through accelerated aging tests. Accelerated ageing tests enable to reproduce such extreme conditions for a limited period of time and to see how a product (or the material used to manufacture it) will behave after months or even years.
“Accelerated aging tests are used to test product quality. They may be performed both at the initial design stage, as well as to check the quality of the target product. We use them in many industries: from automotive to more exotic ones, such as space sector”, says Marek Kościelski. "Thus various products can be tested — from prototypes to finished products. It is also possible to test components or subassemblies of a given product.”
Under laboratory conditions, it is possible to simulate long-term effects of many factors, such as UV radiation, xenon lamps or high humidity, and special nozzles allow simulation of rain and dew. Special climate chambers, in which temperatures from -70 to +180 degrees Celsius can be recreated, are also used for testing. Thermal shock chambers, on the other hand, make it possible to simulate very sudden temperature changes within a few seconds. Different extreme conditions may be combined to test whether and how a product will perform after years of use.
"We also have climate components that allow for testing under specific humidity conditions — from 5% actually to condensation,” the expert of the Łukasiewicz Research Network – Tele and Radio Research Institute explains.
Accelerated aging tests are regulated by standards and regulations, yet in practice, manufacturers often develop their own algorithms for exposure and testing of samples based on their experience. Such tests are most often used in the automotive industry, for example, to check how the car body will behave after years of exposure to the sun or rain. In practice, however, almost any product can be subjected to accelerated aging tests.
“Each test is adjusted to the conditions that will affect the product during its performance. First, an exposure pattern is established, i.e., temperature and humidity conditions. Then the product is placed in a chamber and the exposure time is determined,” Marek Kościelski says.
In the Tele and Radio Research Institute in Warsaw, which conducts research on highly developed technologies and solutions for Industry 4.0, accelerated ageing tests have been conducted for many years, e.g. for automotive electronics, aviation or space industry. Researchers from the Łukasiewicz Tele and Radio Research Institute have already carried out projects with e.g. the European Space Agency. Their experience and facilities of the institute allow for conducting even very complicated tests, e.g., lasting 1–2 thousand hours, which corresponds to 40–80 days. During this time, it is possible to simulate the exploitation of the product that lasts up to 10 years. Researchers from the Łukasiewicz Tele and Radio Research Institute are also supported by the latest research equipment, such as X-ray equipment, electron microscopes, digital and metallographic microscopes and X-ray spectroscopes.
“Many tests are conducted using computers and modeling, but they do not represent real-world testing and the results are only as good as the model used. For real tests, however, the products that will later be used in everyday life are tested. Such tests are very effective, because the results demonstrate whether the product will maintain its properties throughout its life cycle,” the Manager of Laboratory for Quality Testing and Calibration of Electronic Products in the Łukasiewicz Tele and Radio Research Institute ensures.
