Service Life Prediction of Sealant Materials

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Description

The Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) program is a partnership of 12 federal agencies and the housing industry to research, develop, demonstrate, and deploy superior housing technologies. Under PATH's direction, NIST is conducting basic and applied research to develop methods for predicting the performance and service life of building joint sealant. Researchers at the Institute are investigating degradation mechanisms, improving characterization methods, and developing mathematical models of the degradation processes. Stochastic models, which are based in reliability theory and life-testing analysis, are included in the modeling efforts.	NIST SPHERE (Simulated Photodegradation by High Energy Radiant Exposure) technology developed and patented by NIST researchers working on the Service Life Prediction of Polymer Coatings consortium.
To help in understanding the mechanisms of degradation and provide data for models, sealant materials are characterized using many techniques to capture information regarding both chemical and physical degradation, including:
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) UV/Visible spectroscopy Nanoindentation Mechanical and Rheological testing Thermal analysis	Image of the NIST SPHERE taken with a thermal camera.
Researchers at NIST also are developing improved ways to characterize atmospheric environments to which these materials are exposed. Characterization of environmental parameters that cause degradation is needed to link material properties with service life. The NIST work provides a strong scientific and technical basis for standards used by industry. The research is coordinated with voluntary standards organizations and trade associations, industry, and other federal agencies.