The reliability of an engineering product is greatly influenced by its operating environment. During manufacture, transport, storage and service varying adverse climatic conditions may be encountered affecting both product performance and survival capability. Simulation of these conditions under laboratory conditions can both assist the design and development process and demonstrate that a product is fit-for-purpose. |
Climatic conditions may include extremes of temperature, altitude, humidity, salt mist, solar radiation, mould growth, sand and dust, etc. Equipment is frequently expected to operate in a global marketplace, and must therefore take account of world climatic conditions. These can be severe, ranging from desert to arctic temperatures, 10 to 90% relative humidity, and pressure variations of 200 to 1000 mBar. In space and military applications the climatic environment will be even more hostile. |
It is unlikely that any product will see a perfectly benign environment. Solar radiation on enclosed products (especially stored behind glass), diurnal temperature variations, and ingress of moisture are frequent conditions which are ignored during the design process. The range of examples is vast, but may include: |
MATERIAL PROPERTIES
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ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS
EXPLOSIVES / PROPELLANTS
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MECHANICAL / LUBRICATION
HUMAN
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