Global environment in the KUZ lab
Environmental simulation
Environmental simulation replicates natural environmental influences on materials and components. The aim is to shorten practical testing, reduce development risk and gain sufficient knowledge about the reliability and service life of components and subsystems even before prototypes are completed. At the KUZ, a variety of testing equipment is available to simulate the stresses imposed on your products by temperature, climate and solar radiation in a wide range of ways.
We test for you according to national and international standards, according to manufacturers' specifications or carry out special tests specifically according to your specifications.
- Temperature test
Under global environmental conditions, components are exposed to a wide variety of temperatures. Low and high temperatures, but also temperature changes, can lead to damage to the material/component, ranging from visual changes (discoloration) to warpage and loss of mechanical properties (cracks, fracture). Cold behavior testing is a short-term test that is usually carried out within 24 h. The test can be carried out at any time. In contrast, tests of thermal or aging behavior can require up to 1000 h of storage time.
- Climate test
In climatic testing, a wide variety of ratios between temperature and humidity are combined to simulate the long-term behavior of products under more stringent conditions in the laboratory. A climate change test is characterized by phases of high or low temperature, high and low humidity. Between these stress phases, rest phases are built in. The changing environmental conditions on the material/component are intended to reveal weak points in order to avoid later damage and complaints. To investigate the influence of condensing moisture on the surface, temperature and humidity are kept constant over a defined period of time. A warm and humid atmosphere is generated in a vapor-tight climate chamber - a condensing moisture constant climate (CH).
- Sun simulation, weathering and hot exposure
Almost all products are exposed to sunlight in the form of global radiation or global radiation behind window glass during their lifetime. The damaging effect of the sun's rays is based on the one hand on the short-wave UV component and on the other hand on the longer-wave warm IR component. The destruction of the surface can range from an optical change, such as yellowing or fading, to loss of strength. The combination of UV light with water that accelerates aging is called weathering or weather fastness. Testing with global radiation behind window glass, used for indoor products, is known as hot exposure or lightfastness. To simulate sunlight, the KUZ laboratory has testing technology with xenon emitters and with metall halide emitters.
Our services for environmental simulation in detail
Our equipment at a glance
several hot cupboards
Hot storage / aging
Binder GmbH
Beta+, 440
Xenotest test equipment
Atlas MTT GmbH
Type 3433/16
Climatic test chamber
Feutron Klimasimulation GmbH
Light climate test chamber CL -70/1000
Sun simulation
CTS GmbH
Kersternich corrosion tester HK 310
Condensed water constant climate
Köhler Automobiltechnik GmbH
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