SAE J1960 Automotive Aging Tests

SAE J1960 specifies the protocol for operating procedures of a controlled irradiation, xenon arc apparatus. This device is used to simulate UV radiation and outdoor conditions, to take air samples of automobile exterior (or interior) plastics or fabrics. SAE J1960 sets standards for test time, which is xenon-arc instrument exposure, and specifies the protocol for proper preparation of material samples prior to testing.

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has recently approved two new performance-based weathering testing methods to replace legacy hardware-based methods. The new methods define exposure conditions and control tolerances rather than identifying a specific hardware configuration. The publication of these new test methods was the result of years of development by the Automotive Materials Association and SAE.

SAE J1960 and J1885 gave automotive manufacturers the opportunity to standardize common test procedures. Unfortunately, these aging test standards were based on a particular type of equipment architecture. In particular, they had to use one of two equipment models from a single manufacturer.

This decision had two important consequences. First, it provided no incentive for instrument manufacturers to produce more accurate or realistic weathering testers, hindering technical progress. Second, it acted to keep the cost of testing artificially high by discouraging competition.

While the automotive industry leads the world in many areas, it has lagged behind in adopting performance-based aging standards. SAE began to fill this gap in accelerated weathering test standards in the late 1990s, resulting in the publication of three new accelerated weathering standards

• SAE J2527 "Accelerated Exposure to Exterior Automotive Material Using a Controlled Radiation Xenon Arc Device", a performance-based replacement for SAE J1960, was published in October 2003.
• SAE J2412 "Accelerated Exposure of Automotive Interior Trim Components Using a Controlled Irradiation Xenon Arc Apparatus", a performance-based replacement for J1885, was published in February 2004.
• SAE J2413 "Protocol for Verifying the Performance of New Xenon Arc Test Apparatus", a method for verifying that a particular design of xenon arc aging equipment can perform a particular test procedure, was published in December 2003.

The major difference between the new performance-based aging standards and the old hardware-based standards was the removal of all manufacturer-specific references. Parts of test standards that refer to a manufacturer's trade names have been replaced with generic definitions.

EUROLAB Laboratory carries out SAE J1960 tests as accredited.