MBN 51000-3 Polymer Based Materials, Material Systems and Semi-Finished Products - Part 3: Thermal and Climatic Behavior

The standard “MBN 51000-3 Polymer-based materials, material systems and semi-finished products - Part 3: Thermal and climatic behavior” developed by the Mercedes Benz Group addresses the evaluation of materials used in automotive applications under thermal and climatic conditions, ensuring that they can withstand various environmental stresses over time. This standard is used by manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz to ensure material quality and performance.

In the context of the MBN 51000-3 standard, thermal and climatic behavior refers to the testing of non-metallic materials (such as plastics, elastomers, and composites) to evaluate how they perform under various temperature and environmental conditions. These tests are crucial to ensuring that materials used in automotive applications are durable, reliable, and safe under the extreme conditions they may encounter throughout the vehicle’s lifecycle.

The main aspects of thermal and climatic behaviour testing according to this standard are:

• Thermal cycling: The goal is to evaluate how materials respond to rapid changes in temperature. For example, how does a material respond when exposed to both high heat (e.g., engine compartment) and cold (e.g., winter conditions)? During testing, materials are subjected to a series of rapid temperature changes (e.g., from minus 40 degrees to plus 120 degrees) to simulate real-world temperature fluctuations.
• High temperature aging: The goal is to evaluate the ability of a material to withstand prolonged exposure to high temperatures (inside a car or near the engine on a hot summer day). When testing, materials are exposed to constant high temperatures for long periods of time to simulate prolonged exposure to heat and its effects on properties such as flexibility, strength, and color.
• UV and light exposure: The goal is to simulate the effects of sunlight and ultraviolet (UV) radiation on materials that are exposed to direct sunlight, particularly dashboards, seats, and upholstery. During testing, materials are exposed to controlled UV light sources that mimic sunlight to check for deterioration such as fading, cracking, or discoloration.
• Moisture resistance: The goal is to test the performance of materials in damp or wet conditions. This is important for parts exposed to moisture (e.g. weather seals, upholstery). During testing, materials are subjected to high levels of humidity (and sometimes immersion in water) to assess how well they resist moisture absorption, swelling or deterioration.
• Thermal expansion: The goal is to determine how much a material expands or contracts when heated or cooled, and whether this affects the fit and function of automotive parts. When testing, materials are heated and cooled under controlled conditions, and their expansion or contraction is measured to ensure they perform within required specifications.
• Low temperature flexibility: The aim is to ensure that materials maintain their flexibility at low temperatures, preventing brittleness and cracking in cold weather. When testing, materials are cooled to low temperatures (e.g. minus 30 degrees) and then tested for flexibility and resistance to cracking.

This standard focuses on hot light ageing tests, for example, and evaluates how materials withstand long-term exposure to light and heat. For example, HLA is the section of this standard that covers test methods and requirements for polymer materials for vehicle interiors and exteriors. Hot light ageing (HLA) is a key section of the section and is a test performed to simulate ageing under the combined effects of heat and light (usually UV). The objectives of hot light ageing (HLA) testing are to:

• To evaluate how a material (such as a plastic dashboard component) holds up over time when exposed to sunlight and high temperatures.
• Essentially simulating what happens in a car parked in the sun for long periods of time.

In terms of test conditions, high temperature (e.g. 120 degrees or as specified) is used. Intense artificial light with ultraviolet (UV) content is used. Test duration can be several hundred hours (e.g. 300, 500 or 1000 hours depending on material and feature). Test may include heating/cooling cycles.

Automotive parts are exposed to a wide range of temperatures and environmental conditions throughout their life cycle. Testing their thermal and climatic behavior allows:

• Safety: Materials will not deteriorate or deteriorate under extreme conditions. Discoloration, cracking, loss of gloss and brittleness are prevented.
• Durability: Components maintain their appearance, strength and function over time. Ensures material durability and integrity throughout the life of the vehicle.
• Comfort and aesthetics: Interior materials such as seats and dashboards need to retain their colour, texture and flexibility under both high temperature and freezing conditions.
• Regulatory compliance: Automotive manufacturers must adhere to strict regulations and quality standards for material performance.

Such testing is vital to ensuring that vehicles are built to withstand the harsh environments they will encounter on the road, whether it be extreme temperatures, humidity, UV exposure or other environmental stressors.

In short, the MBN 51000-3 standard is a part of the Mercedes-Benz standard series that focuses on evaluating the thermal properties of non-metallic materials, material systems and semi-finished products used in automotive applications. This part of the standard covers various tests to evaluate how materials behave under thermal stress.

In the automotive industry, components are frequently exposed to fluctuating temperatures. The MBN 51000-3 standard provides standardized methods to ensure that materials can withstand such conditions, thus ensuring the safety, reliability and longevity of vehicle parts.

Our organization, which has been trying to support businesses from every sector with its wide range of testing, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies for years, has a strong staff that closely follows the developments in the world in the field of science and technology and constantly improves itself. In this context, testing services in accordance with the "MBN 51000-3 Polymer-based materials, material systems and semi-finished products - Part 3: Thermal and climatic behavior" standard are also provided to businesses.