Accelerated weathering exposure techniques

MIL-STD-304 is a commonly used accelerated-exposure technique to determine the effect of weathering and high humidity on adhesive specimens.66 In this procedure, bonded panels are exposed to alternating cold (-54°C) and heat and humidity (71°C, 95 percent RH) for 30 days. The effect of MIL-STD-304 conditioning on the joint strength of common structural adhesives is presented in Table 15.20. However, only relative comparisons can be made with this type of test it is not possible to extrapolate the results to actual service life. 

Laboratory accelerated weathering tests have played an important role in development of polymeric materials with highly improved weatherability. However, since all stresses present in an outdoor exposure cannot be simulated in a laboratory accelerated test, the latter cannot replace natural exposure. It is a complimentary technique, the usefulness of which largely depends on how closely it reproduces the chemistry and weathering effects caused by the slower outdoor exposures. Thus, correlation is a fundamental issue which must be considered when selecting a laboratory accelerated weathering method. It depends on reasonably representing... 

Present research work has been carried out in two parts field exposme tests and accelerated laboratory tests on unexposed panels. Under field exposme test three representative sites PI very close to sea shore and free firom SO2, P2 away from sea with presence of SO2 and P3 industrial environment with presence SO2 were chosen. Analytical techniques (EDX, XRD and Raman spectroscopy) were used for rust characterisation and SEM was employed for understanding the morphological state. Corrosion rates were estimated after different periods of exposure at sites. It is found that though accelerated laboratory test can predict the general trend of corrosion, actual field test data cannot be created in laboratory. So an attempt was made to simulate protective rust coating in the laboratory that is typical of field exposure protective rust formation on weathering steel. 

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