Contact us for a non obligatory quote at +61 (0) 3 9532 2207 or email
ExcelPlas UV Testing Laboratories
Specialising in accelerated weathering, accelerated ageing, and environmental ultraviolet (UV) exposure testings for plastics, polymers, rubbers, and composites
Accelerated Weathering and UV Exposure
Weathering and UV exposure causes damage to plastics, coatings, and other materials.

Yellowing, fading, cracking, brittleness, loss of tensiles strength, and delamination can all occur under UV exposure.

An accelerated weathering test can help determine if your product will withstand outdoor exposure over time.
UV Testing
ExcelPlas operates TWO accelerated weathering chambers - providing UV exposure testing of materials with or without 100% condensation (humidity).

Our QUV weathering testers can be used for:
Determining the degree of strength loss, yellowing, cracking, brittleness, and blistering.
Determining the colour change and fading of materials by reproducing the full spectrum of sunlight.
Products We Test
Agricultural Films
Pigments
(Colourfast Testing)
Bulk Bags and Woven Textiles
Fibres
Packagings
Geomembrane (Liners)
Plastic Cases
(Mobile Phones)
Plastic Films
Plastics Housings
Polymer Coatings
Rotomoulded Products
Synthetic Grass
(Artificial Turf)
Stadium Seats
Tensile Bars
Water Tanks
Wire and Cable Insulations
Wood Polymer Composites
(WPC)
and many more products!
Our Capabilities


Accelerated weathering testing of polymer and plastic materials and products by using UV exposure chambers.



Accelerated life (ageing) testing to show how a material will react to long-term sunlight exposure.




Simulating years worth of sunlight in just weeks.



Testing the resistance of polymeric products against environmental impact, weathering, temperature, humidity, and repeated UV moisture exposure.

Testing of polymeric materials under specific conditions of heat, UV, and applied stress to determine its critical properties before and after exposure.

Testing of plastics, paints, coatings, textiles, adhesives, sealants, and other polymeric materials to UV light to test how they will stand up to years of UV light.
Our laboratories are able to conduct a wide range of standards such as fluorescent exposure of plastics and accelerated weathering by QUV according to the following methods:

ASTM D4329, ASTM D4587, ASTM D7238, ISO 4892, and many more.
Contact Us
Knowledge Base
The most popular accelerated weathering testing is covered by ASTM G154.

This test is exposing samples to a cycle of 8 hours of UVA-340 light at a temperature of 60'C, followed by 4 hours of condensation at 50'C for a total of 500 hours (21 days) of exposure.
Role of Condensation in UV Ageing

Condensation (i.e. dew) is more damaging than rain because it remains on the material for a long time, allowing significant moisture absorption. A long and hot condesnation cycle reproduces the outdoor moisture phenomenon.

Consider adding condensation step to your accelerated weathering test.
Correlation with Outdoor Weather

The most asked question is:
How many years outdoors is equivalent to the time in weathering chamber?

There is no easy exposure formula. As a general guide, 500 hours under UV-B bulbs is equivalent to 1 year of exposure in South Florida, while 1000 hours under UV-A bulbs can create the same exposure effects. However, there is no simple equation for calculating exposure. Instead, each manufacturer must create their own “rule of thumb” for outdoor exposure correlation.
When to use UV-A bulbs?

UV-A light tends to accelerate a yellowing or fading with its exposure. Coloured products could benefit from UV-A exposure as yellowing or fading is undesirable. UV-A bulbs can offer Daylight and UV behind window glass exposures.

UVA-340 offfers the best correlation to outdoor exposures because it is the best simulation of sunlight from 295 to 365 nm.
When to use UV-B bulbs?

UV-B lights tends to accelerate or create "brittleness" or an ageing process not typically occurring outdoors. UV-B bulbs can accelerate the degradation of polymer.

UVB-313 bulbs offer maximum acceleration by utilizing short-wave UV that is more severe than normally found on Earth's surface.
QUV Chamber (Open)
UV Exposure Under Stress
QUV Chamber (Cross Section)
Downloads


1_UV DOSE TABLE mW_m2_yr (image)

Ultraviolet Degradation of Synthetic Liners and Coated Fabrics PAPER Scheirs & Parry (PDF)

UV Irradiance Map Australia kWh_m2 (image)

UV Irradiance map kL_yr (image)

UV QUV Accelerated Weathering Tester Tech Specs Data -WEB (PDF)
ExcelPlas UV Testing Laboratories
274-276 Wickham Road
Highett VIC 3190
Australia
Phone: +61 (0) 3 9532 2207
Email:
Website: www.excelplas.com
Summary
We specialise in materials testing and durability evaluation of polymeric materials and plastic products.

Our services include:
- Durability testing and evaluation
- Accelerated weathering testing
- Accelelated UV exposure testing

We test a wide range of materials including plastic, rubbers, textiles, fibres, coatings, paints, resins, additives, adhesives, building materials, sealants, packaging materials, and composite materials.

Artificial Weathering, Durability Testing, and Fade Resistance
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