Irradiated Environmental Chambers

Using a novel concept for humidity control, based on a proprietary saturated air source, MAC will construct and evaluate a prototype of an environmental chamber for use with NIST’s SPHERE UV source, in weathering or other UV degradation studies. The chamber will interface to the exit ports of the SPHERE, maintaining the material coupons, mounted in a standardized sample holder, at a programmed temperature and relative humidity, within specified tolerances, for the duration of testing. The prototype will be evaluated for temperature and humidity control performance over a range of conditions, to include variations in ambient temperature and barometric pressure typical to a laboratory environment, and simulated altitude up to 2000 meters. The prototype will be installed on the NIST SPHERE for a period of testing to evaluate performance in the SPHERE environment.