The Vickers hardness test is a common method to measure the hardness of materials. The Vickers test’s required calculations are independent on the size of the indenter, and the indenter can be used for all materials irrespective of hardness. The basic principle, as in all common measurements of hardness, is to observe a material's ability to resist plastic deformation from a standard source. The Vickers test has one of the widest scales among hardness tests. The unit of hardness given by the test is known as the Vickers Pyramid Number (HV).
A solar simulator is a tool for characterizing solar devices in laboratory conditions, by producing a radiation spectrum similar to the solar one. A solar furnace is a solar simulator able to produce a high-flux solar radiation, useful for characterizing solar concentrating devices.
The system is provided by a xenon lamp, which has a spectrum reproducing at a good extent the solar spectrum and is typically used as reference for evaluating the performance of solar converters. The radiation flux can be reflected on a small area for simulating conditions of concentrated solar radiation (up to 5000 suns on a circular area of 5 mm diameter). Therefore, the solar furnace is a useful tool for performing measurements of thermal-to-electrical energy conversion efficiency and thermal/radiative accelerated ageing of materials.
A climatic chamber provides an accurate ageing testing environment for materials where it is possible to control parameters such as temperature, humidity, UV irradiation. It can be used for performing accelerated ageing tests on materials and devices, simulating stress environmental conditions in a reduced time.
The climatic chamber allows carrying out ageing tests for samples characterized by a large volume according to pre-programmed complex climatic profiles, managing the recording of the performance of the environmental parameters. It is also typically used for burn-in evaluation of electronic devices.
Contact angle measurements allow performing analyses of wettability of a material. The wettability is a property that describes the capability of a material to be wetted by a liquid, determining its adhesion characteristics (e.g. study of hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity).
It depends on the type of liquid, the material, and the morphology of the surface. The measurement is carried out by evaluating the contact angle formed between the material surface and a liquid droplet, whose surface tension is connected to the contact angle through the Young equation.
The Angelantoni Challenge 250 climatic chamber is used for the stress of the samples in conditions of high temperature (up to 90 ° C) high relative humidity (up to 95%) and ageing of the samples. The climatic chamber has three 53x58 cm2 shelves. There is also a UV lamp inside the room.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
- temperature range: -40/180°C;
- relative humidity range: 10/95%
SAMPLES
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maximum size: 53x58 cm2, 3 shelves
USE FOR
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sample stress test;
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ageing
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