Humidity and Water Resistance Testing

Humidity and water resistance testing involves subjecting materials and components with or without coatings to water vapor or liquid water at various temperatures, thus simulating structure and equipment operating under different climatic conditions ranging from dry arctic climate to warm and humid tropical and subtropical climate. Hydration is one of the most basic forms of corrosion in addition to oxidation. Hydration generally leads to reduction in mechanical and chemical integrity of structure and equipment. Many materials suffer from this. Some simple examples of materials that suffer from humidity and water are concrete, polymers, polymer composites, organic coatings on metals, etc.

Capability – At TTL, we have humidity chambers to test small sample to full size components. We run tests routinely for polymer and composite manufacturers, as well as coatings developers.

Some relevant standards:

• ASTM D870 – Standard Practice for Testing Water Resistance of Coatings Using Water Immersion
• ASTM D1735 – Standard Practice for Testing Water Resistance of Coatings Using Water Fog Apparatus
• ASTM D4585 – Standard Practice for Testing Water Resistance of Coatings Using Controlled Condensation