Indian market needs more specially engineered environmental test chambers

The test on environmental chambers helps in identifying the problems in the factory itself. And corrective actions can be taken as products require environmental testing to ensure their reliability.

With encouragement from the Central Government, Indian industries are gearing up for exports globally. They are striving to increase Indian manufactured goods produced in the global market and simultaneously to make India Atmanirbhar. The industries are also involved in developing high-technology defence equipment & material; aerospace; electronic hardware and electronic goods; automobiles, and solar farms. All the products require Environmental testing to ensure the products’ reliability under variable environmental conditions. The requirement for standard and specially engineered environmental test chambers are increasing in an exploding manufacturing market within India. Moreover, the need for Environmental chambers is expected to grow many folds in the coming years.

Environment chambers help in testing products
The product tested in Environmental chambers reveals the inherent defects in the product. They are mostly related to environmental parameters such as low & high temperature, humidity, dust ingress, rainwater ingress, low and high atmospheric pressure, and corrosion due to polluted air. Take an automobile and auto parts as an instance. Here, all parts must undergo an extensive environmental test for reliability and the lowest failure rate of components, sub-systems, electronic circuits, sensors etc.

For example, during an accident, if the airbag sensor fails and the airbag does not get deployed, the passenger can be severely injured or dead. The same is the case with field guns operating in the cold environment of Kargil, where the temperature is -40 deg. C & due to the cold environment. In such temperatures, gun barrels may contract, and the shell cannot be fired in desert conditions; dust accumulates in the radiator or the gearbox, hydraulic system etc. can jam the operation.

Due to variable environments, there can be ‘n’ several product problems. The test on environmental chambers helps in identifying the issues at the manufacturing unit itself. And hence, corrective actions can be taken to get a reliable product.

Innovations for simulating environmental conditions
Aircraft landing gear, operation of aileron, radar to steer aircraft, and hydraulic systems are used with special hydraulic fluid as media and hydraulic hoses at high pressure and variable temperature.

Hydraulic hose reliability is of utmost importance for aircraft flight control surface and landing gear operation. For testing of hoses, specially designed high-pressure intensifiers with environmental test chambers are designed with safety features. Testing involved high-pressure intensifiers, specially designed high-pressure pneumatic valves and dedicated control hardware & software to ensure the long-term reliability of critical components in aircraft, such as high-pressure hoses of various sizes. We have IS and IEC & MIL standards for constructing environmental test chambers.