Product Durability and Environmental Testing
Durability testing (also known as reliability testing and environmental testing) allows the assessment of a product's response to the physical and climatic hazards that may occur throughout the operational life of the product. This testing provides recognition of compliance, analysis and resolution of damage issues, and assurance of reliability and durability.
Many engineering sectors use durability testing (environmental testing) as a regular part of product design and validation, including the electronics industry, medical and healthcare sectors, and defense, automotive and aerospace industries.
Pira's modern laboratories are well equipped to meet our client's environmental testing needs, performing vibration, shock, thermal/climatic and drop impact testing to a broad range of industry standards, including DEF STAN, Mil-Std, Telcordia & JEDEC.
Our laboratories are located in Europe and North America, with testing facilities at London, UK; Lansing, Michigan; Sunnyvale, California; and Huntington Beach, California.
Pira Environmental Testing Service
Flexibility, responsiveness and commitment are core values in our services, so we are proud of our proactive response, ingenuity and adaptability in environmental testing. Whether you need a mid-test change in schedule, engineering support, ideas or just a breathing space, we are there to help. Should you have to re-book we have flexible schedules to ensure you avoid delays.
Pira prides itself on its customer focus, flexibility and adaptability which can be of great value during product development test programmes. Our customers view us as a preferred supplier because of our approach to customer service as well as our facilities.
In the UK our laboratory is UKAS accredited (No.0112) to provide additional assurance of the quality of our work.
Further details are provided below on typical products that are durability tested and why environmental testing is so important.
Summary of Testing Scope
The facilities available differ across Pira's labs, but in summary the range is as shown below.
Vibration testing
Servo-hydraulic and electromagnetic shaker systems spanning 0.5 to 2000 Hz. 10G sine and up to 5 Grms random depending on test item mass. Sine, broadband random, mixed mode, modulated, SRS and time replication test control capability. Response monitoring up to 24 channels.
Shock testing
Synthesised shock up to 20G. Free fall shock machine up to 500G (depending on pulse energy) with half sine and trapezoid programmers for pulse lengths from 2 - 20ms.
Climatic testing
Numerous floor standing, bench-top and walk-in chambers, with thermal range -50°C to 150 °C; selected chambers have controlled elevated humidity.
Why Durability Testing is Important
The testing of a product or component's durability characteristics is of paramount importance where:
Products are exposed to high intensity hazards
The item will be exposed to high intensity, or sustained, physical or climatic hazards. These could be direct, or transmitted, shocks where there is a risk the associated acceleration levels could exceed the product's damage boundary. Alternatively the product could suffer accumulated fatigue from sustained vibration. A product's vulnerability to damage could be influenced by extremes of temperature or humidity.
Examples of sectors where products are exposed to challenging environments include defence, aerospace, automotive and exploration. Because of the critical nature of product application in these sectors performance testing against specification is widely mandatory.
Products are of high value or long life expectancy
The item is used in a less demanding environment but a combination of product value, importance of reliability in operation, life expectation and known exposure to periods of handling or movement lead to the need to have assured performance against accumulated exposure to moderate shock and vibration.
Example sectors include medical instrumentation and devices, electronics and IT, high value inspection and test equipment, transportation control (dock, rail, road and air-side). Product specifications often require testing to demonstrate long term durability.
Product are vulnerable and prone to damage
Items known to be fragile and / or vulnerable to shock or vibration induced damage. Assessment of product characteristics and damage thresholds can lead to design improvements to reduce fragility, to better design of protective packaging and to better specification for product users.
Example sectors include lasers, optical devices, vacuum tube devices, sensors and hard disc drives.
Products represent safety risk if they become damaged
Items known to present a hazard risk if they suffer damage. These are typically subject to regulation. Examples include lithium batteries, packaging for hazardous and infectious substances, and radioactive items (though the latter falls outside the scope of Pira activities).
The critical nature of these situations has led to the use of advanced data collection, analysis techniques and specification. High level specifications are available in defence and environmental standards but bespoke performance requirements are often set down based on application studies. Testing often requires monitoring and analyses of product responses.