COIN Laboratory for Accelerated Lifetime Testing 

Project Objective

To meet these challenges, reliable models of the expected lifetime of materials and products, as well as their rapid availability, are essential. However, the development of such models requires both a comprehensive knowledge of age- and stress-related changes in macroscopic, mesoscopic, and microscopic structure and insights from accelerated lifetime testing (ALT). Since these requirements in their combination typically go far beyond the capabilities of SMEs and can also only very rarely be met by large companies, sustainable product development is often slowed down.

Therefore, the primary goal of the Lab4ALT project is to establish a scientific hub for accelerated lifetime testing (ALT) that will support companies in their efforts to reliably predict the lifetime of their materials and products under the influence of various environmental conditions.

To this end, we combine artificial aging methods with extensive in-situ and post-mortem analyses from the macro to the microscopic scale (see the schematic for an overview). This innovative approach allows us to provide fundamental information for the development of sustainable products that are specific to each material and application.

An equally important goal is to develop new and improved models for aging, durability, and failure based on the data collected. The objective is that successful models can be developed primarily in those material and product categories that are of particular importance to interested partners in industry and commerce.

Finally, the project is intended to close a competence and infrastructure gap in Austria's R&D landscape, thus increasing the attractiveness of Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences as a research and service partner for Business and Management and other scientific institutions.

Contact