Durability testing

It has been well known from an early stage in the development of polymeric materials that factors
like heat, sunlight, oxygen in the air and humidity in general accelerates the degradation of rubber.

Normally there is little time available to wait for a test to be concluded under real conditions.
Accelerated ageing is therefore used instead in durability tests. In all ageing processes it is especially
important to maintain constant temperature and in certain cases a constant relative humidity in the air.
Another important factor is the flow of air around the test pieces, so that the oxygen concentration
is remained at a constant level.