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Accelerated Aging Testing

Accelerated aging testing is performed on products to determine information on shelf life and to document expiration dates.

Accelerated aging is a testing method used to estimate the useful lifespan of a product when actual lifespan data is unavailable. This occurs with products that have not existed long enough to have gone through their useful lifespan: for example, a new type of car engine or a new polymer for replacement joints or medical products and packaging.

The test is carried out by subjecting the product to unusually high levels of stress, designed to accelerate the effects of normal use. Mechanical parts are run at a very high speed, far in excess of what they would receive in normal usage. Polymers are often kept at elevated temperatures, in order to accelerate chemical breakdown.

Also, the device or material under test can be exposed to rapid (but controlled) changes in temperature, humidity, pressure, strain, etc. For example, cycles of heat and cold can simulate the effect of day and night for a few hours or minutes.

Real time aging must be performed in conjunction with any accelerated aging study to correlate the results found during accelerated aging.