Micom Laboratories Inc. offers ASTM G155 – Practice for Operating Xenon Arc Light Apparatus for Exposure of Non- Metallic Materials. This practice is the basis of all of the other standards for accelerated weathering using Xenon Arc UV light sources to simulate exposure to natural sunlight on an accelerated basis. Many standards call up this practice; for a list by product category please see: Xenon arc standards list. Testing ASTM G155 allows to reproduce the weathering effects occurring when materials are exposed to sunlight (either direct or through window glass) and moisture.
Weather-o-meter testing uses and factors to consider
ASTM G155 is used to perform accelerated ageing on a wide range of products and industries including products for the automotive industry, surface coatings, pharmaceutical light stability tests, printing inks, roofing, rubber, adhesives, textiles, geotextiles and many others.
When testing your products using this practice, the samples are exposed to repetitive cycles of light and moisture under controlled environmental conditions. Moisture is usually produced by spraying the test specimen with demineralized water or by the condensation of water vapor onto the specimen.
ASTM G155 experimental parameters to specify
To perform a relevant accelerated weathering test that is right for your application the following test parameters need to be defined carefully:
Overall exposure duration (hours) (used to simulate indoors/outdoors conditions)
The lamp irradiance level
The type and duration of moisture exposure
The timing of the light and moisture exposure
The temperature of light exposure
The temperature of moisture exposure
The timing of a light/dark cycle.
There are predefined cycles in table X3.1 of ASTM G155 that can be used when doing xenon arc testing. Should you need guidance in deciding which test cycle or test conditions should be used for your specific needs; please feel free to contact us. Our experts will be happy assist you to get the best accelerated weathering test possible.
Other related test methods
ASTM G155 vs. ASTM G154
This decision tree will help you understand how to choose the right UV Test
If you have any questions about ASTM G155 or other UV Tests, we invite you to contact us today. It will be our pleasure to answer your questions about material testing and UV tests.
We also invite you to download our PDF on the true color measurement: What is the difference between the “true” color of an item and its “perceived” color (by the human eye)?