accelerated weathering of automotive interior to SAE J2412
SAE J2412 is a popular and commonly used accelerated weathering test standard, which exposes automotive interior samples to simulated sunlight using xenon lamps. In order to test the real-life performance of a material or product, you need to be able to test it to the environmental conditions which it would expect to be exposed to during its service. This could apply to any material or product which sits outdoors or indoors but still in direct sunlight through a glass window such as the interior of cars. This is where accelerated weathering of automotive interior to SAE J2412 comes into play. Accelerated weathering simulates these conditions to give an indication of how well the product or material will perform when exposed to elements such as sunlight, moisture and humidity.
Samples of the product or material are placed inside QSUN Xenon Arc Chambers where they undergo a programme specifically designed to mimic the weathering conditions it is likely to face. There are many automotive standards offering different weathering and light fastness cycles. Standard SAEJ 2412 offers a good comprehensive test that is not manufacturer specific and so can be used for a variety of end uses and customers. All standards specify weathering condition options. Most have irradiance, wavelength, sample temperature, air temperature and humidity settings, they will also offer cycles including light & dark and wet & dry cycles. These cycles depend on the conditions they are trying to simulate.
Accelerated weathering of automotive interior to SAE J2412 samples are tested within the QSUN Xenon Arc Chambers for a set period of time which can vary. You can test to a set number of hours or a set number of Kjs, some standards have specific times or Kjs to adhere to others would be agreed by the contractual parties prior to testing beginning. The SAEJ test is usually requested in Kjs which we are able to convert into hours so we know how long the test will take. Testing times can be very varied from just 70hrs (110Kjs) up to thousands of hours depending on the requirement. Once the testing has been completed the results are evaluated, this can be a visual evaluation and grayscale, colour measurements using our spectrophotometer or gloss readings using a sheen gloss meter. The most common method used to gather results is a visual assessment following the guidelines set by ISO 105 A02. This standard describes the grey scale for determining changes in the colour of the samples before and after a specified amount of radiant exposure.
The main products which are tested to standard SAE J2412 are interior car products including plastics and textiles. This can include carpets, seat coverings, parcel shelves, material coverings or anything which could be affected by sunlight. Although primarily used for interior automotive parts the standard can also be used to test car make and model stickers and other exterior parts if the environment is expected to be hot and dry.
The Q-Lab test chambers, Q-SUN Xenon Arc Chambers: Model Xe-3, at impact solutions are capable of accelerating the ageing process by approximately 8 times. There are just over 8000hrs in a year so running a test in one of our weathering chambers for just 1000hrs (Around 6 weeks) you will be simulating around a years’ worth of natural weathering. This is not an exact number due to the amount of light, heat rain changing yearly so exact numbers are impossible. Few industries have time to leave samples or components outside for years at a time to get durability results so this is the perfect solution for speeding up the weathering process.
If your product is structural, combined with the weathering testing, we can perform a variety of physical testing which enables us to give you a truer picture of your product’s performance during its expected lifespan.
Impact Laboratories have an accelerated weathering and lightfastness laboratory and are able to test a wide range of standards including accelerated weathering of automotive interior to SAE J2412. To see our full list of capabilities, click here!
If you are looking to have a product tested to standard SAE J2412 then get in touch with Impact Solutions today. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to stay up-to-date with our testing capabilities.
