How Environmental Chambers Work & How Leasing Benefits Your Lab

A climatic chamber is used for testing that requires temperature and humidity control. These temperatures often need to be very extreme, reaching well below or well above zero. In general, the temperature can range from -70°C (-94°F) to 180°C (356°F), but may vary depending on the manufacturer, design, or size of the chamber.

Humidity levels often range from 10% to 95%. There are also climatic chambers which only control temperature, these units are referred to as thermostatic chambers.

Temperature and humidity test chambers are essential to product development because both factors can have serious effects on a product, so it’s important to test whether or not yours can withstand temperature changes or increases/decreases in relative humidity.

Thermal shock testing chambes are similar to thermostatic chambers; however, they instead expose a product or sample to extreme changes in temperature.

Thermal testing is accomplished by moving the item within the chamber quickly between a hot portion of the chamber and a cold portion, and is incredibly important to test in products that can go or be taken from one extreme to the other.

As the name suggests, mechanical test chambers are used to perform mechanical tests on a material, prototype, or product. Mechanical tests include testing for tensile strength, compression, shock, vibration, impact, and fracture toughness.

The testing is used to simulate real-world conditions that the sample will undergo. These types of test chambers feature various temperature ranges, mounting configurations, and grips and fixtures.

Steady state environmental chambers, also referred to as stability test chambers or shelf-life testing chambers, are ideal enclosures for long-term testing on packaged products. These units provide climatic conditions that can be adjusted, providing temperature controlled storage.

Furthermore, stability test chambers, which are available in a range of sizes, are designed to accelerate aging, drying, controlled-temperature storage, incubation, and cold-room storage.

For these reasons, steady state and stability test chambers are well suited for applications in research facilities and laboratories. This is due to their ability to handle a wide range of temperature and humidity conditions.

Cryogenic test chambers are designed to reach cryogenic temperatures, with temperatures ranging from -150 °C (-238 °F) to absolute zero (-273 °C or -460 °F). However, most chambers work to replicate these extreme conditions, and do not reach temperatures of absolute zero. Cryogenic chambers typically get as cold as -150 °C.

These chambers reach extremely low temperatures using cryogenic liquids, such as liquid nitrogen or helium, and help manufacturers test their products for potential flaws or malfunctions at extremely low temperatures.

Vacuum chambers work by removing air and pressure from a sealed compartment to evaluate the effects of a vacuum on a material or prototype. Testing by a vacuum test chamber is a requirement of the aerospace and defense industries.

Specifically, engineers use it to test the quality and design of electronics, circuits, lenses, filters, structural materials, and more.

A benchtop chamber, also referred to as a table top chamber, is one of the most compact types of unit available, capable of fitting on a laboratory bench top, and is ideal for testing smaller types of items. It serves as a great point-of-use environmental chamber. It is capable of controlling both temperature and humidity, and can range in size from ~1 ft³ to ~5 ft³.

Also known as an upright chamber, this unit is typically much larger than a benchtop version, ranging from ~8 ft³ to ~70 ft³. Reach-in chambers are capable of controlling other types of environmental stresses outside of temperature and humidity, and often can simulate mechanical stresses as well, including vibration and radiation.

A walk-in chamber is essentially a climatized room, large enough for a person to stand in or to fit a vehicle inside. These units are capable of wider ranges of environmental and mechanical conditions as well, providing extremes for testing of finished products. They are utilized in many industrial settings, but are also suitable for scientific applications. This type of chamber is customizable, and can be made to fit many different requested dimensions.

Modular environmental chambers, or modular test chambers, are prefabricated walk-in or reach-in chambers that are designed and assembled to meet a wide variety of testing needs.

Being highly customizable and prefabricated means manufacturers and research facilities or laboratories can create a chamber to meet their exact requirements.