MIL-STD-810 Environmental Laboratory Tests

MIL-STD-810 Environmental
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Teri Eicher

MIL-STD-810 Environmental Engineering Considerations and Laboratory Tests is a Department of Defense Test Method Standard containing test methods that replicate environmental effects on equipment.  This testing is primarily intended for Developmental Test and Evaluation to verify a product’s ability to meet design specifications and customer requirements.

Test Tailoring

MIL-STD-810 emphasizes the importance of the test tailoring process as a requirement for proper evaluation.  Part One of the standard describes the various management, technical, and engineering roles essential to the test tailoring process.  This tailoring process examines the anticipated stresses incurred during the product’s life cycle and uses that analysis to determine appropriate methods, sequences, durations, and severities for evaluation.

MIL-STD-810 Test Methods

Part Two of the standard contains climatic and dynamic environmental laboratory test methods.  These methods include multiple procedures to provide test sequences for various configurations such as operational and storage modes.  Most of these methods require the test tailoring process to specify test duration, severity, and pass/fail criteria.

World Climatic Data

Part Three of the standard provides essential world wide climatic information compiled from a number of sources.  These include MIL-HDBK-310 Global Climatic Data for Developing Military Products and AR 70-38 Research, Development, Test and Evaluation of Materiel for Extreme Climatic Conditions.  This trove of information can be used as a starting point for establishing test criteria when measured data is not available.

Importance of this Standard

MIL-STD-810 evolved, and is continuing to evolve, from lessons learned in decades of product developmental test and evaluation.  As such it provides an important tool for developers of defense equipment and commercial equipment designed to endure environmental stresses.  It also has influenced the development of a number of international standards for product testing.

Understanding the approaches and perspectives of this standard can greatly enhance a product development program that can result in increased product ruggedness and reliability.

MIL-STD-810 Training

CVG Strategy offers a two-day Training for MIL-STD-810 Program designed to provide you with a solid basis to build your knowledge and expertise.  This live training webinar will give you and your employees who are new to environmental and dynamic testing a jump start towards understanding and learning the very complex and lengthy testing standard and its methods.

CVG Strategy EZ-Test Plan Templates

CVG Strategy provides a wide array of test plan templates that meet industry standards.  This documentation ensures that testing is performed accurately and that necessary data is collected.  These documents help communicate test requirements to test facility operators and test engineers.  Test plans are available for the following standards:

  • MIL-STD-810 Environmental Engineering Considerations and Laboratory Tests
  • MIL-STD-461
  • MIL-STD-704
  • MIL-STD-1275
  • MIL-STD-1399-300B
  • IEC 60529

Several categories of test plans are available for developmental test and evaluation of defense products.  These include:

Ingress Protection test plans are available for testing per IEC 60529 for enclosure testing against dust, penetration, water splash, water jet spray, and immersion.

CVG Strategy Test and Evaluation Expertise

CVG Strategy can assist your product development team with test and evaluation expertise.  We provide can provide compliance by analysis reports, create custom test program documentation,  provide troubleshooting and analysis for difficult EMI/EMC issues and perform finite element analysis.

Jamie Hamilton

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