Earlier this month, T,C&A Lab, Alfa Chemistry’s testing branch, announced plans to provide automotive material testing service for automakers worldwide in the hope of enhancing the safety of vehicles for manufacturers and drivers.
The testing range covers: varieties of steel plates, light metal materials such as aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, and titanium alloy, composites such as glass fiber reinforced materials (GFRP) and carbon fiber reinforced materials (CFRP), non-metallic materials such as glass, plastic, rubber, leather, artificial leather and fiber, coating materials, interior materials, adhesives, and many more.
The quality of automotive materials and parts is a prerequisite for the success of vehicle design and production. “Quite a number of initiatives have been launched by automotive manufacturers during the past ten years for the purpose of reducing weight, improving fuel economy, and enhancing performance. However, no matter what measures they adopt, material selection will always be the key factor in successfully realizing such aims,” said a senior scientist from T,C&A Lab.
Whether automakers choose to use steel, aluminum, or the most advanced lightweight composite materials, they must ensure these materials are reliable in quality throughout the extended in-service time.
A comprehensive automotive material testing project should cover the following items:
Metal materials and parts testing, including: mechanical performance testing, composition testing, size measurement, and structural analysis such as metallographic analysis, nondestructive testing, coating analysis, etc.
Polymer materials and parts testing, encompassing: physical performance testing such as impact strength, hardness, haze, tear strength, thermal performance testing, coating performance test of interior and exterior parts, burning performance testing, qualitative and quantitative material analysis, electrical performance testing, and reliability testing under extreme environments.
Testing for restricted hazardous substances in automobiles, such as Pb, Cd, Cr6+, Hg, PBB, PBDE, etc.
Vehicle oil and fuel testing, including the test of metal ion, particle distribution, density, viscosity, ash, flash point, moisture, alkane oxide, sulfur content, pour point, and distillation range for lubricating oil, gasoline, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, and other vehicle oils.
The whole testing process is conducted under the guidance of various regulations, such as ASTM A262, ASTM G28, ASTM G48, and ASTM A923. Please visit https://tcalab.alfa-chemistry.com/industries/automotive-materials-testing.html to learn more about T,C&A Lab’s automobile material testing capabilities.
About T,C&A Lab
As a chemistry lab specializing in testing, characterization, analysis, and data interpretation of various materials, T,C&A Lab offers accurate and detailed supplementing evidence for product design and development. Ever since its founding, T,C&A Lab has successfully handled a dozen of material testing projects. Currently, the lab can not only perform material assessments for rubber, plastic, textile, metal, ceramic, glass, coating, and wood but also solve some of the most demanding and complicated technical issues.
