A new guide aims to help predict how building sealant systems will perform over time using accelerated testing methods. The new standard (soon to be published as C1850, Guide for Improved Laboratory Accelerated Tests to Predict the Weathering and for Developing Methods to Predict the Design Life of Building Sealant Systems) was developed by ASTM International’s committee on building seals and sealants (C24).
 
The guide outlines a systematic way to develop realistic tests that show the long-term impact of weathering and other factors.  
 
“It is impossible to know how a product will perform in five to ten years, but you have to select a product now,” says ASTM International member Christopher White, a research chemist at the U.S. National Institute for Standards and Technology. “This new standard is a guide to accelerated test methods that will help determine the performance of products in the future.”
 
White says that the proposed standard could be useful for anyone in charge of choosing or buying sealants. He says the new standard could potentially serve as a model for the development of accelerated testing standards for other materials.
 
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