DuPont Performance Materials said its China Research & Development Center (CRDC) has become the first laboratory in the Greater China region to be qualified for conducting flammability tests for plastic materials under the UL-94 and CSA C22.2 no. 0.17 test standards.
The center received the certification in June, which allows it to carry out UL-94 and CSA C-22.2 no. 0.17 Vertical Flame Evaluation tests to obtain UL94 V-2/V-1/V-0 flame ratings certification under UL's Client Test Data Program (CTDP), without the presence of UL personnel.
This represents a step forward from the Witnessed Test Data Program (WTDP), according to DuPont. “This development has positive implications in terms of reducing the time needed for our products to be certified for safety compliance globally and launched in the market,” said Woong Chung, Asia Pacific technology manager.
CRDC was qualified in 2014 under CTDP to undertake evaluation of Long Term Thermal Aging (LTTA) properties in accordance with the UL746B standard for Relative Thermal Index (RTI). “This additional certification for flame ratings is a vote of confidence in our technical capabilities and the integrity of our staff,” Chung added.
CTDP is a UL Data Acceptance Program (DAP) that accepts test data generated by UL's customers in their own test facilities to support UL product certification. Among all of UL's DAPs, CTDP certification for LTTA is generally considered to have the strictest technical requirements for test laboratories and it usually takes the longest time to complete assessment of laboratory operations and correlation tests.
CRDC is the first UL-authorized CTDP laboratory for both LTTA and UL94 flammability in the Greater China region.
“UL94 Vertical Flame Rating and UL746B RTI evaluation are the two key safety standards required by our Electrical and Electronics customers for material selection. Hence this capability provides key technical support for our material development and deployment in the Electrical and Electronics industry. UL testing requirements are considered to be the most stringent in the world and UL certification in China now gives our customers in all regions of the world confidence that DuPont's global network is in full compliance with these standards,” Chung said.
