Thermal Cycling Test
Thermal Cycle Testing
Thermal Cyclic Testing is a critical reliability test used in a wide range of industries—such as electronics, automotive, aerospace, and materials engineering—to evaluate the durability and integrity of components when subjected to extreme temperature variations over time. As part of our comprehensive product testing services, the main goal is to simulate the real-world environmental conditions that products will face during their operational life, ensuring long-term performance and reliability.This type of testing involves repeatedly exposing a component or material to alternating high and low temperature extremes over a number of cycles. These temperature fluctuations cause expansion and contraction in the materials. Repeated thermal expansion and contraction generate mechanical stresses at interfaces, joints, and within the material structure itself. Over time, this cyclical stress can lead to fatigue failures—progressive, localized structural damage that accumulates with each temperature cycle until the part ultimately fails. Such evaluations are commonly conducted in advanced environmental testing laboratories, where controlled conditions replicate real-world temperature variations.
Fatigue failures are especially critical in electronic assemblies, solder joints, metal components, and composite materials where different coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs) between materials can create stress concentrations. The objective of Temperature Cycling Testing is to accelerate the onset of these failure mechanisms, allowing manufacturers to identify design weaknesses and improve product robustness before field deployment.
Temperature Cycling Test Process
The Thermal Cycle Testing is conducted using specialized equipment known as a temperature cycling chamber. These chambers are designed to precisely control and alternate between high and low temperature environments. As part of comprehensive product testing and certification, this process ensures components are evaluated for durability and reliability under extreme conditions.
1. Pre-conditioning:
The unit under test (DUT) is stabilized at room temperature before cycling begins.
2. Cycle Definition:
The test profile is defined in terms of:
- High and low temperature set points (e.g., +125°C to -40°C)
- Dwell time at each temperature (to ensure thermal stabilization)
- Transition rate between temperatures (controlled or ramped)
- Total number of cycles (e.g., 1000 cycles)
3. Testing Phase:
The DUT is repeatedly subjected to the defined temperature profile. The chamber automatically controls transitions and logs conditions.
4. Post-Test Evaluation:
After the cycling is complete, the unit is inspected for signs of degradation such as cracks, warping, delamination, electrical failure, or other mechanical defects.
Applications and Importance
- Quality assurance during product development
- Qualification testing for regulatory compliance
- Predictive maintenance and lifecycle estimation
- Identifying weak points in solder joints, adhesives, plastic housings, PCBs, and other multi-material assemblies
By accelerating the aging process, the Thermal Cycling test helps engineers and designers predict long-term behaviour in a condensed timeframe, improving the reliability and safety of critical systems.
The test equipment has ranges and capacities of
- Temperature Range: –65 °C to +150 ° ( Ramp Rate: 1°C/min to 15°C/min)
Variable working space are available:
Dimensions are in mm:
- Max: 1000x1000x1000
- Min: 400x500x600
Standards that can be performed:
- IEC 60068-2-14
- IEC 61215
- ISO 16750 Part 4
- RTCA DO-160 Section 5/6/8
- MIL-STD-810H Method 524
- JIS C 60068-2-14
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