Stress test - a reliability-based method for predicting the service life of sealants

摘要

THE STANDARD test method for evaluating sealant performance is ASTM C719, a threshold or torture test' based upon the pioneering work of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researcher Arthur Hockman. This article will detail efforts to move away from the use of threshold tests towards a reliability-based method for predicting the service life of sealants. The first task in this approach will be the demonstration that data from both monitored outdoor exposure and controlled indoor exposure predicts the same service life. These efforts will test both adhesive and cohesive failure of the sealant formulations. In both the indoor and outdoor exposures, the sealant will be exposed to cyclically interrelated deformation, humidity; UV flux and temperature.