EN IEC 60068-2-11 Environmental Tests - Part 2-11: Tests - Test Ka: Salt Fog

The EN IEC 60068-2-11 standard published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) defines a test method for evaluating the corrosion resistance of electrotechnical product components, equipment and materials in a salt mist environment. The purpose of this test method is to verify that the comparative quality of a metallic material with or without corrosion protection is maintained when exposed to salt mist.

The test method described in the EN IEC 60068-2-11 standard is applied to evaluate the quality and homogeneity of the coatings applied to protect metals against corrosion. This test method appears particularly useful for detecting discontinuities such as pores and other defects in certain metallic, organic, anodic oxide and conversion coatings.

The following major technical changes have been made in the last update of this standard:

• The preparation of the salt solution has been modified.
• The temperature of the solution was changed to determine the pH value.
• The atomization pressure and water temperature of the saturation tower are added.
• Test report details have been changed.
• Examples of typical test apparatus are included (Appendix A).
• A method for assessing the abrasiveness of the apparatus is included (Appendix B).

The salt mist / spray test is a standardized test method for checking the corrosion resistance of coatings and all products. Corrosion affects not only metals, but also highly alloyed, annealed materials, plastics and painted surfaces. The test time depends on the real-life environmental conditions of the product. High humidity, salty air, sea water and sandblasting salt affect the abrasiveness of the product.

The test in question is widely used because it is fast and well standardized. Scratches are sometimes added to the coating to accelerate corrosion. The length of scratches formed during corrosion testing is a measure of coating quality. Salt fog testing is mainly used for quality control of materials, but less so for estimating the real-world life of a product.

When conducting a salt spray/mist test, determining which standard to use, the required exposure time for the samples, the inspection criteria , and the inspection frequency are all important for identifying the defect.

Our organization, among the numerous test, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies it provides for businesses in various sectors, also provides test and salt fog testing services between environmental tests within the scope of EN IEC 60068-2-11 standard, with its trained and expert staff and advanced technological equipment. .