Atlas Material Testing Technology Introduces UA-EMMA, Latest Innovation in Ultra-Acclererated Weathering
Atlas Material Testing Technology, the global leader in weathering testing equipment and services, is excited to introduce its latest advancement in exposure testing, the Ultra-Accelerated EMMA (UA-EMMA). This new outdoor testing device provides approximately 10-12 years of equivalent radiation exposure as would be received in South Florida in a single year. Atlas developed this new solar concentrator technology utilizing the same "cool mirror" technology used in its Ultra-Accelerated Weathering System (UAWS).
Similar in concept to Atlas' Equatorial Mount with Mirrors for Acceleration (EMMA®) technology, the new ultra-accelerated EMMA device tracks the sun, while concentrating reflected sunlight on test specimens mounted in a target area. The difference however, lies in the new patented mirror system used in the UA-EMMA, which has very high reflectance in the UV and near visible wavelength ranges while attenuating reflectance in the longer wavelength visible and IR portions of the solar spectrum. This leading-edge technology allows for very high concentrations of UV energy without excessive heating of test samples.
Typically, high-irradiance solar concentrators or laboratory solar simulators built for ultra-high-irradiance durability testing often cause test samples to overheat resulting in unnatural material changes compared to those experienced in an end-use environment. Atlas' new technology differs in that it simultaneously fulfills three requirements critical for ultra- accelerated exposure testing. It allows for the expose of many different types of materials to ultra-high UV irradiances, maintains high fidelity to the natural solar UV spectrum, and keeps specimens at acceptable exposure temperatures
The UA-EMMA employs twenty focusing mirrors arranged as parabolic facets to variably concentrate UV energy on a target area approximately 15 cm X 76 cm (6 in x 30 in). UA-EMMA is also fully compliant with existing industry standards such as ASTM G90 – 10 Standard Practice for Performing Accelerated Outdoor Weathering of Nonmetallic Materials Using Concentrated Natural Sunlight.
Materials/products that are ideal candidates for UA-EMMA testing include materials that require a long service life, transparent and glazing materials, temperature sensitive materials such as PVC, coatings applied to metal panels, and materials that perform well in EMMA or EMMAQUA testing.
For more information contact Stefani Levine, +1-773-289-5533, e-mail: stefani.levine@ametek.com
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