A Robust Environmental Chamber for Testing the Durability of Outdoor Pumps and Coatings

This work presents an improved and robust six-nozzle water spray chamber used for testing the outer wear-resistance of outdoor pumps. The existing water spray chambers have multiple design flaws such as its two-piece construction and unstable connections creating an unreliable and inefficient system. The proposed six-nozzle water spray chamber prototype would simulate rain and other environmental factors at an accelerated pace to observe the product’s ability to withstand those environmental effects over long periods of time. Along with an increase in reliability and compatibility with the existing heating unit, a digital control of the system was implemented. This paper outlines the conceptual and detailed design process used to analyze each concept created for the subsystems. Three subsystems of the chamber were utilized: the floor of the chamber, the opening mechanism for the chamber, and the controller programming. Using the sub-system designs, a conceptual design parameter matrix was created. The FEA were conducted to confirm the structural rigidity of the system. To test susceptibility to liquid ingress at the component level, room level, and field-level, 3 tests were carried out using the chamber prototype: Wet – Dry Cycle Test, Hydrogen Embrittlement Test, and the Water Ingress Test. The Wet – Dry Cycle Test examined for bleeding or leaching of colors or cracking, peeling, and failure of the paints. This test included a 3-hour period of spraying water followed by a 1.5-hour ‘dry off’ period in which air at 90 psi will be blown onto the products. This cycle was then repeated up to 42 times. The Hydrogen Embrittlement utilized the same Wet – Dry Cycle however, this test left the products uncoated and examined for any hydrogen build up or rusting within the fasteners. The Water Ingress Test exposed products to thermal and rain/weather effects. The pumps were placed within the chamber and, using an external heating unit, the products will be heated to 60 degrees Celsius. Once that temperature was reached, water was sprayed onto the pumps for 1 hour and the cycle was then repeated until corrosion occurs.