VW TL 52217 Wear of the Device on the Exterior of the Vehicle - Requirements

The standard “VW TL 52217 Wear of equipment on the exterior of the vehicle - Requirements” developed by the Volkswagen automobile company describes the requirements for equipment weatherproofing of external materials exposed to ultraviolet rays (UV) from solar radiation. This testing method, device weathering, is a rapid testing method that simulates outdoor exposure of materials for external components. The requirements of this standard are therefore derived from the standard “VW 50185 Vehicle parts - Resistance to outdoor weather conditions”, which includes tests to test the weather resistance of the entire vehicle and its components.

Meeting the requirements of the VW TL 52217 standard does not replace meeting the weatherproofing requirements according to the VW 50185 standard.

For material verification, the requirements of the “VW 52000 Material quality verification requirements and documentation” standard are complied with.

The most stringent requirements are always used for the transport component and platform components.

TL 52217-A principles apply for basic requirements and TL 52217-B principles apply for extended requirements.

Before testing, it should be determined which of the following test scenarios exist and what requirements will apply to the current situation. If more than one scenario applies, all requirements of the relevant scenarios must be met.

• If the material to be tested is a material or technology that does not have sufficient experience with outdoor weather conditions, the requirements in the relevant procedure should be used.
• Unless otherwise stated in the accompanying technical documentation, the requirements according to Version A must be met in standard practice. In this version, a distinction is made between body colors and contrasting colors.
• For passenger car applications belonging to the sports brand group, the requirements according to Version B apply, unless stated otherwise in the accompanying technical documentation.
• Requirements for components that are only temporarily exposed to the sun are subject to applicable section requirements.
• Relevant section requirements must be used for materials at joints/gaps and remaining components.
• It should also be checked whether a situation-specific requirement needs to be used and the relevant section requirements used:
  • Sunroof materials
  • adhesive labels
  • metallic surfaces
  • Functional glasses (e.g. switchable glasses, laminated glasses, insulated glasses)
  • Plastic cover panels and plastic glasses for lighting and sensor systems
  • Components made of polycarbonate

The definition of materials with sufficient weather resistance is included in the “Extended weather resistance” section of the VW 50185 standard.

For materials and technologies that do not have sufficient experience with outdoor weather conditions, it should be checked whether the device weather conditions formulated in this standard comply with the Version A or Version B requirements or whether situation-specific requirements are required.

Materials and technologies with sufficient experience against outdoor weathering include:

• New commercial variants of known polymers and known raw material manufacturers
• The binder base of the material is used successfully, only the pigmentation is new (e.g. new base coat colours, colored PP, PMMA).

Whether a material or technology is identified as “without sufficient experience” is determined by the certifying material development/material technology and the certifying outdoor air conditioning representative of the relevant brand.

The results after outdoor exposure must meet the requirements of the VW 50185 standard for new materials. For all material concepts used, correlation of changes between outdoor weather conditions and device weather conditions must be ensured. If the results after device weathering match the type and intensity of aging with the results after outdoor weathering, outdoor weathering conditions are simulated by device weathering testing in accordance with TL 52217-A or TL 52217-B. The new material or new technology is then tested in the future against the baseline requirements or expanded requirements profile.

When evaluating correlation, it should be taken into account that damage caused by outdoor exposure is subject to natural fluctuations. If differences occur between outdoor weather conditions and device weather conditions, especially ultraviolet doses and temperature loads, they should be compared between outdoor weather conditions and device weather conditions.

If modified tests or requirements for device weathering are required to simulate outdoor weather conditions, these should be specified in the specifications.

Among the numerous testing, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies it provides for businesses in various sectors, our organization also provides testing services defined in the "VW TL 52217 Wear of the device on the exterior of the vehicle - Requirements" standard, with a trained and expert staff and advanced technological equipment.