Resistance to Ozone

For some wire/cable insulation/jacket types, the polymer degradation can be tied to ozone exposure. Long term exposure can cause the insulation to become bridle and easily crack. There is also potential for conductor/shield corrosion with ozone exposure. For those using wire/cables in locations with potential for ozone exposure, understanding the impact of prolonged ozone exposure […] Read more

Maintenance Aging

A well-designed connector will easily mate and de-mate throughout the course of its service life. Further, the insertion and removal force of the contacts should not change much from the initial installation. The maintenance aging test evaluates this. The connector is mated and de-mated a dozen or more times. After the mating and de-mating cycles, […] Read more

Electrical Engagement

When using connectors in wire system design, the regular and consistent contact between contacts on both sides of the connector is crucial. To determine this, the electrical engagement test examines the mating length of the connector contacts. For test performance, the counterpart plugs and receptacles are wired to provide a complete series circuit through all […] Read more

Comparative Tracking Index of Electrical Insulating Materials

One of the items that comes up regularly when reviewing the performance of materials is the resistance to arc tracking. This may be one of the properties of polymers and plastics that have the largest number of tests methods for evaluation. No different in this regard is the ASTM D3638 test method for comparative tracking […] Read more

DC Resistance

This test is to measure the direct-current (dc) resistance of resistors, electromagnetic windings of components, and conductors. It is not intended that this test apply to the measurement of contact resistance. When the test is performed, it is necessary to define the test temperature as the DC resistance may impact the results. DC resistance shall […] Read more

Fuel Immersion – Secondary Support

Components that degrade in fuel exposed environments, when located inside of the fuel tank, may break off and create FOD that clogs fuel pumps. Thus, it is necessary to verify the performance of any secondary support product prior to use in these environments. For the fuel immersion test, the specimen are tightened around a mandrel […] Read more

Elevated Temperature Aging

This test determines if the wire insulation can withstand a temperature aging test for a time period at a temperature greater than the insulation temperature rating. The wire must then withstand the bend and wet dielectric tests after the thermal exposure for the specimen to pass the test. This test is sometimes included as part […] Read more

Continuity of Conductors

AKA: Continuity of Conductor, Conductor Continuity A delivered wire spool is anticipated to include a single, continuous length of wire. While this may not be a single continuous conductor, any conductor discontinuities (where two conductor lengths are joined), should not have an impact on performance. The continuity of conductors test examines the conductor for flaws […] Read more

Thermal Endurance

The thermal endurance (or high temperature endurance) test determines the ability of the insulation of a firezone or similar wire to resist degradation due to exposure to high temperature. Degradation is judged by change in conductor resistance, cracking during bending, insulation dielectric breakdown, or decreased resistance to fluids. All of these points shall be tested […] Read more

Insulation Resistance – Connectors

This test examines the insulation resistance between connectors pins and the resistance between pins and the connector shell. This test is necessary to identify any manufacturing defects or specimen contamination. The pass/fail criteria conditions for this tests are connector specification specific and have a pin-to-pin and pin-to-shell resistance over 1MOhm. Read more

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