Natural Stone Institute Announces New Testing Lab Offering
OBERLIN, OH—Natural Stone Institute is pleased to announce that accelerated weathering testing is now available through the testing lab’s recently acquired environmental simulation chamber. This test method is used to determine the level of strength and fabric degradation caused to a natural dimension stone by exposure to repeated cycles of freezing and thawing in a near saturated condition. Accelerated Weathering tests are often required by project design and engineering teams in regions that experience high numbers of freeze/thaw cycles.
The test method is applicable to any natural dimension stone intended to be used in construction or landscape applications in areas where the material will be subjected to subfreezing temperatures. Test specimens are placed in a chamber that alternates between cooling and heating to produce freeze/thaw cycling. Sonic modulus of elasticity tests are performed at prescribed intervals to establish a correlation between the number of cycles experienced and the rate of progression of degradation of the specimen. Destructive flexural strength testing is performed on control samples prior to the test and on samples after the test to determine strength loss.