Textiles are typically exposed to light during use, where light energy can damage dyes and cause "fading"—discoloration of colored textiles, usually resulting in lightening or darkening. How can sunlight exposure be simulated? The answer lies in using a xenon arc aging test chamber. Dyes used in the textile industry exhibit significant variability in lightfastness, necessitating standardized methods to evaluate their color fastness. Additionally, the substrate being dyed also influences the lightfastness of the dye.
Xenon Arc Aging Test Method for Textiles
The test involves exposing fabric samples alongside a set of Blue Wool Lightfastness Reference standards (dyed with blue dyes of varying lightfastness grades) under identical conditions. When the fabric sample demonstrates noticeable fading, it is compared to the Blue Wool References. If the fading level matches Blue Wool Reference 4, the sample is assigned a lightfastness rating of Grade 4.
HYEON Instrument Xenon Arc Aging Test Chambers
Two primary configurations are available: rotary drum and flatbed types.
Technical Specifications
- Temperature Range:
- Chamber temperature: 63 ± 5°C
- Black panel temperature: 40–110°C
- Temperature Uniformity: ±2°C
- Sample Rotation Speed: ≥1 rpm (stepless adjustable)
- Chamber Dimensions: 500 × 750 × 600 mm (W × D × H)
- Light Filtration:
- Below 255 nm: 0% transmission
- 400–800 nm: ≥90% transmission
- Filters require replacement every 3–6 months
- Power Supply: AC 380 V / 50 Hz, maximum power consumption: 9 kW
- Xenon Lamp:
- Type: Air-cooled long-arc xenon lamp (full solar spectrum)
- Power: 3 kW
- Irradiance Control:
- Adjustable range: 350–850 nm
- Default setting: 550 W/m² (automatically controlled)
- Optional monitoring wavelengths: 340 nm or 365 nm
This equipment enables precise simulation of solar radiation conditions to assess textile color fastness under accelerated aging, ensuring compliance with industry standards for durability and performance.
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