Altitude Testing
Altitude testing simulates operation or shipment of a product at different altitudes. These tests typically simulate the low air pressure when operating a product at high altitude locations or shipping a product by air.
Altitude testing is usually performed at fixed simulated altitudes, with typical dwell times at each simulated altitude ranging between 1 hour and 1 day. It is also common to simulate the ramp rates between altitudes that may occur during shipment. Less commonly, very high ramp rate tests are performed to simulate, for example, rapid decompression during an air travel emergency.
Combining Altitude with Other Tests
Altitude tests are sometimes performed simultaneously with other tests. For example, altitude tests can be performed simultaneously with temperature tests in order to better simulate a high altitude cold environment.
Alternatively, high temperature tests of air cooled equipment are sometimes performed without any air pressure reduction, as a lower cost way to simulate the reduced cooling effectiveness of the low density air at high altitudes.
PCL East has the specialized capability to perform both stand-alone altitude testing and combined altitude and temperature testing, in order to simulate real-world conditions that your product may endure.
Common Altitude Tests:
Including but not limited to
Standard Altitude
Combined altitude and temperature simulation
Combined altitude and vibration simulation
Combined temperature, altitude, and vibration simulation
Altitude Cycling
Vacuum Bake
Ultra-High Vacuum
Outgassing
Frequently Asked Questions
Can PCL East do both non-operational and operational testing?
Yes, PCL East can do both non-operational and operational testing. During operational testing, PCL is capable of monitoring the unit for functionality. Altitude tests can be performed with either operational or non-operational units and can be done simultaneously with temperature or vibration tests.
Are altitude tests used to simulate all pressure environments, including underwater or space conditions?
Not exactly. While altitude testing is commonly used to simulate pressure changes during shipping or operational conditions above sea level, other environments are typically referred to differently. High-pressure conditions, such as those underwater, are usually tested through pressure or intrusion protection (IP) testing. On the other hand, extremely low-pressure environments like outer space or near-earth space are generally evaluated using vacuum testing rather than altitude testing.