ISO/IEC 17025:2017 (NABL) Certification for Thermal Testing
Thermal Testing
Thermal testing is a method of testing a material is ability to operate safely at different temperatures. It is one of the most critical tests in determining the safety of a product. As excessive heat destroys electrical or electronic circuits. It is mandatory that temperatures must be well controlled to avoid any failure and to increase the reliability of the product.
As accurate temperature measurement of components can be challenging. The entire product doesn it need to be able to operate in its intended thermal environment but each component within the product must conform to the specification. The objective of thermal testing is to assure that each component within a product meets its thermal specifications and to help correct those components that do not.
Choosing a Thermocouple
An important tool used in thermal testing is the thermocouple. When thermal data is required on a small percentage of the components, then thermocouples are a quick way of measuring temperature. It is one of the most accurate and repeatable. There are many other devices or methods used for measuring temperature but thermocouples are one of the most common and commonly used sensors. There are different types of thermocouples used in various industries. Most of these have been recognized by a letter like B, C, D, E, G, J, K, L, M, N, P, R, S, T, and U.types J, K, and T are the most commonly used thermotype couple in the electronic industry due to their ease of use, low cost and availability.
There is a list of recommendations that must be considered before doing any thermal testing. The thermocouple should be matched with the application where it is used expected temperature, environment, abrasion, oil, etc.
It is mandatory for all the manufacturers that components used within a product must meet thermal specifications. The components that are running too hot or cause the system out of specification must need a proper check for the cause. The product must be functionally tested during the thermal testing to assure that the components are being exercised as they normally would be.
The products benefit from thermal performance testing are curtain walls, doors, floors, ceilings, wall systems, and roofing, etc. To make market insulating products and heating pieces of equipment,manufacturers must characterize and report their product is thermal performance. There are lots of benefits of thermal testing. It optimizes energy efficiency and improves the product. It also speeds up product time to market. Only those thermal insulation products are granted to use that were certified and proofed the compliance with the relevant standards.
Thermal testing is a way to detect electrical defects such as loose connections and overloaded circuits, transformer cooling faults, motor winding faults, and induced currents. The test actively reduces risk and ultimately saves time and money for the user in the long run by detecting faults before they occur. Thermal testing should be carried frequently where environmental factors are prevalent. The best part of thermal testing is its non destructive nature.
As thermal testing is most effective as a maintenance procedure of components in electrical insulators, it is important to ensure that the thermal testing performed on a component has great quality or it can hamper the performance and life of the product to a great extent. This is why thermal imaging testing should be done in a lab that is NABL accredited and ISO 17025:2017 certified. This ensures the accuracy of the testing data.
If you have a thermal testing lab and you want to get it certified for ISO 17025:2017 and NABL, then prime certification can be of much help. Our well experienced consultant team can handle the paperwork and audit work for you and make the certification process easiest for you as well.
