UK-based manufacturer of road marking materials and safety surfacing materials, Adbruf Limited has recently invested in a state-of-the-art QUV accelerated weathering tester, giving the company larger scope to simulate and analyse the effects of ageing on road markings.
The QUV is the equipment of choice for professional laboratories involved in assessing the weathering performance characteristics of coatings and importantly, in the case of coloured road surfacings and markings, colour retention. It allows the simulation of the effects of several years of real-life weathering in the space of just a few weeks.
Adbruf’s new QUV equipment will test material samples by maintaining an elevated temperature and exposing the material to repeated alternate cycles of ultraviolet (UV) light and moisture, to reproduce the effects caused in situ by sunlight, rain and dew. In this way, physical changes in the company’s coloured and anti-skid surfacings, as well as its thermoplastic and other road line marking materials, can be continuously observed and problems such as chalking, fading, cracking, crazing and settlement can be measured, he says.
Adbruf intends to employ the QUV to select and monitor raw materials, for quality control of existing materials and for ongoing product development. The prime objective is to develop coatings that provide enhanced resistance to the effects of weathering on performance and colour, he adds.