What is a salt spray test chamber and why would I use one?

Simultech Australia provides salt spray test chambers to Australia and New Zealand and have an assortment of chambers available for sale. In this brief article we endeavor to provide you with a short introduction to what they are and why they are used.

Salt spray test chambers also known as corrosion test chambers or salt spray test cabinets are manufactured by a number of companies around the world which include Weisstechnik (Germany), Q-Labs (USA), and Ascott to name but a few.

­Corrosion Test Chambers can range in size from around 500 litres such as the WeissTechnik SaltEvent SC500 to as large as a small walk in room. The size of these corrosion test chambers will depend upon your application and what you are testing. Salt Spray Test Chambers spray a mist of salty brine solution over your product in a uniform way and at temperatures and humidities which are defined by a series of standards focused at corrosion testing.

Salt Spray Test Chambers can be used by almost any company that manufacturers a product that will be exposed to a corrosive environment. This covers an enormous range of companies in automotive, Defence, consumer goods, telecommunications, paint and polymers, the list goes on.

Salt Spray Test Chambers are typically used to perform a variety of salt spray and corrosion tests which might range from a few hours to months. This helps establish whether the product will survive the corrosive conditions that it will be exposed to. This type of testing can also be used to determine what part of the product is likely to fail first and in some cases assist in determining how long the product will actually last.

There is a massive assortment of test standards available that define how a product should be tested, these are typically developed by an assortment of manufacturers and test labs and then made available for anyone to follow who is designing a similar product. Some of the more common ones include: ASTM B117 (B-117), ASTM G 85 and DIN EN ISO 9227, there are a wide array of automotive and defence standards as well including Volvo STD 5711 and Mil Std 202H.

Modern Salt Spray Test Cabinets are able to perform a wide variety of tests using different brine solutions, in an assortment of temperature and humidity environments and for different durations.

The team at Simultech Australia has over 20 years experience supplying, servicing, maintaining and training customers on salt spray test chambers and are pleased to assist you with determining the correct chamber for your application. We also have access to consulting services that can assist you in determining exactly which test standard you should follow.

Contact us today to discuss your application.