What is the Procedure for Preparing a Sample for a Salt Spray Test?

• Gaurav Malhotra

The materials used in the construction of the luxurious infrastructure that we enjoy on a daily basis including roads, cars on roads, aeronautical automotive & instruments, electrical appliances, etc. are exposed to the environment to a large extent which elevates the chances of these materials getting rusted & corroded.

Since these materials are extremely crucial and are consumed by each & every individual, it is highly necessary to take adverse measures in order to keep their integrity intact and quality top-notch. It takes loads of resources including financial as well as natural resources in the construction of machinery or elevation of an infrastructure, therefore, the margin of error is minimal and the expectations of high quality are paradigmatic.

To live up to the expectations it becomes vital for manufacturers to undertake extreme & rigorous testing measures before utilizing a material in the production process of the final product. A revolutionary lab testing instrument, manufactured by the Presto Stantest Pvt. Ltd. rose up to the occasion and allowed manufacturers to undertake the tests to evaluate the rust resistance of materials so that their quality is assured and their longevity is enhanced. The lab testing instrument is called the salt spray chamber.

The salt spray chamber is equipped with highly advanced features that have transformed the testing techniques of materials and have made a paradigm shift in the quality of the final products made out of testing from this instrument.

The salt fog test chamber is designed to imitate extremely humid weather conditions by forming a salt fog concentration around the specimen, the instrument then evaluates the ability of the specimen to withstand such extreme climatic conditions.

You must be wondering what sort of samples can be tested within the instrument, how they are tested, which type of samples can be tested & how to prepare the sample.

Presto Group decided to answer all these questions and provide you with all the necessary information regarding the sample placement & preparation for achieving maximum accuracy while performing the test.

Sample Placement Sectors inside the Salt Spray Chamber

The salt spray chamber manufacturers offer a total of three sample positioning sectors inside the inner chamber, where the entire testing takes place through different equipment installed within the lab testing instrument.

1. V-bar: The v-bar is a v-shaped long funnel-type tube associated with the carved-out walls of the inner chamber that accommodates numerous test specimens that are comparatively smaller in size. For example, screws, coins, metal condiments, etc.

2. Card Holder: The cardholder is a base with carved-out structures inside it for the placement of metal sheets that are carved out of bigger pieces of sample for smooth 7 easy assessment. These metal sheets can be coated as well as non-coated.

3. Sample hanging Rod: There are certain samples that cannot be adjusted into the v-bar & the cardholder due to their unidentified shape, therefore the sample hanging road is installed to hang such pieces of metal with the help of a thread and conduct the salt spray test.

The salt spray chamber manufacturers have also made sure that the operator can conduct the test on bigger specimens as there is a provision for removing all the specimen holders and placing the specimen directly on the floor of the inner chamber as the chamber does not have an integrated heater on the base like other instruments. The silicon bag heaters used in the salt spray fog chamber are integrated within the walls in a U-type formation.

It is crucial for manufacturers to undertake certain steps for conditioning the specimen properly before installing it within the different types of sample holders to achieve high levels of accuracy.

Sample Conditioning Steps Before Conducting the Salt Spray Test

Preparing and conditioning the step is a highly important aspect of conducting the spray test as the samples are collected & carved out from various material types that can hamper the surface of the specimen and thus compromise the accuracy of the test results. There are numerous kinds of materials, some of which originate from ores, and some of them are manufactured artificially and carry coatings over them therefore it is vital to test all the specimens at an even level in order to achieve accuracy by undertaking these steps:

1. Specimen Identification: The first & foremost step is to identify the type of specimen that is going to be tested. There are different conditioning steps for variable materials i.e. coated, uncoated, small, big, etc.

2. Removal of External Bodies: Since these materials are exposed to the environment, there are numerous contaminating bacteria on the surface of the specimen which must be removed from the surface with the help of any detergent or some chemical with cleaning agents like citric acid, sodium hypochlorite, etc. these chemicals also remove the stagnant oil & grease from the surface of the samples. It is vital to make sure that the sample is dried before getting placed in the specimen holders.

3.    Masking & labeling: There are instances when the salt spray chamber is utilized directly at the later stage wherein, certain materials of the product must be masked and only the material that should undergo such a rigorous test should remain exposed. Labeling of a sample also plays a pivotal role as there are numerous samples getting tested all at once, hence it is vital to label the specimens to avoid confusion at later stages.

Test Various Condiments with the Salt Spray Chamber As Soon As Possible

Get the finest salt spray chamber for achieving pinpoint accuracy in determining the rust resistance of various materials. The Presto Group offers the most affordable salt spray chamber prices all across the globe, do not wait any further and place an order by reaching us at +91 9210903903 or e-mailing us at info@prestogroup.com. 

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