Sand & Dust Testing | Services | Particle Technology

Home > Services > Sand & Dust Testing

Evaluate Your Products for Harsh Conditions

Housing two of the largest commercial sand and dust testing facilities in Europe, Particle Technology can assess and improve how well your components, systems and products perform in desert and other unfavourable conditions.

Sand & Dust Testing explained

Every environment presents its own challenges to optimum performance of equipment. For desert regions, the penetration of sand and dust into cracks and crevices, of anything from a mobile phone to a military vehicle, can have negative effects.

Sand & Dust Testing from Particle Technology uses a specialised dust chamber and testing procedure to simulate desert conditions in order to evaluate how well your products cope. The information we provide will help inform changes to your products, improving performance, longevity, customer/user perception and your bottom line.

Accreditations for Sand & Dust Testing

Our commitment to quality is evident by our ISO 9001 approval by BSI for the manufacture of standardised test dusts and the provision of accredited testing services. Our UKAS schedule of accreditation to ISO 17025 demonstrates our technical competence and includes blowing sand and dust testing to internationally recognised standards including:

MIL-STD-810D/E/F/G/H
RTCA-DO-160E/F/G
DEF STAN 00-035:Part 3 Issue 5

There are numerous benefits to using accredited testing services like those offered by Particle Technology: you can be assured that the work you have commissioned will be completed to the highest standards, avoid the time and costs associated with assessing suppliers individually, and have an approved supply-chain that supports your own accreditation.

See our schedule of accreditation here or search 4109 on the UKAS website.

Our Sand & Dust Testing Facilities

Using our dust chamber, the largest of its kind in the UK, we are able to perform bespoke sand and dust testing to simulate desert conditions. Parameters such as dust concentration, air velocity, temperature and humidity are controlled throughout the test.

We are ideally located in the East Midlands, saving UK customers the additional cost of shipping components overseas for testing.

Our facilities include:

12.5 x 4 x 6m blowing and turbulent dust chamber with a 4m-high access door
4 x 4 x 3m blowing and turbulent dust chamber with a 2m-high access door which can be extended to 2.5m
800mm square x 600mm high turbulent dust chamber
300mm diameter dust driving application duct with an exit velocity of up to 30m/s
150mm diameter dust driving application duct with an exit velocity of up to 60m/s
90ºC maximum air temperature for driving sand and dust tests
Humidity control: guaranteed <30 % RH year-round

With the production of Test Dusts, a critical part of our operation at Particle Technology, we have a range of samples for you to choose from for application in our testing services, as well as the expertise to create bespoke Test Dusts to customer and project specification.

Bespoke Sand & Dust Testing services

As with all of our testing services, our experience, expertise and state-of-the-art facilities allow us to tailor our offering to suit your specific needs. This may include:

Testing with a modified, controlled test media, (such as coarser sand to monitor the effects of abrasion, or finer dust to challenge filtration systems and component seals).
Carrying out testing at modified temperatures, concentrations and velocities.

We will discuss these requirements and any other considerations during consultation, so that we provide the best solution for your needs.

Our Sand and Dust Testing Facility

Housing two of the largest commercial Sand and Dust testing facilities in Europe, Particle Technology is the ideal choice for customers needing to assess and improve how well their components, systems and products perform in desert and other dusty conditions.

Get in touch

Want to know more? Please get in touch and let us help you by making particles count.