In addition to the standard application of sterilization, Systec laboratory autoclaves are used in a wide range of other areas of application. In addition to the standard European pharmacopoeia procedures, such as the glass test (to determine the hydrolytic resistance of pharmaceutical glassware) and the rubber closure test, these also include a wide variety of special procedures, such as material tests and the simulation of environmental conditions. The special procedures include procedures to simulate ageing phenomena and moisture resistance. Examples include the pressure cooker test in accordance with DIN EN 60749-33 and the HAST test (highly accelerated stress test) in accordance with DIN EN 60068-2-66.
The so-called glass test is a test method that examines the water resistance of the inner surface of glass containers and then classifies them. This involves determining the amount of sodium and other alkaline earth metals or alkaline earth oxides that are released from the filled glassware by hydrolysis during treatment with moist heat. The analysis is carried out either by titration or by spectrophotometry of the liquid in the glassware, whereby the upstream sterilization process is the same for both analytical methods. In the autoclave, various temperature ranges are run through at specific time intervals with the aid of a special ramp program, whereby the narrow limit values of the pharmacopoeia must be adhered to.
Similar to the glass test mentioned above, the rubber closure test is used to examine the chemical resistance of the test material. In this test, rubber stoppers and caps of pharmaceutical containers are first placed in suitable glass flasks. The glass flasks are filled with a prescribed amount of deionized water and fed into the sterilization process in the autoclave. As with the glass test, strict limits are prescribed in the pharmacopoeia for exact compliance with the specific process steps. Particularly high demands are placed on the autoclave's cooling options, as it must cool the samples from 121 °C to 25 °C within 30 minutes. Finally, the water is analyzed using various methods and the tested rubber stoppers or caps are categorized.
In this procedure, semiconductor components are tested for their moisture resistance using saturated steam in a pressurized atmosphere. This destructive method is used to simulate a highly accelerated test load. Pressure, humidity and temperature are applied in the autoclave in such a way that they bring failure mechanisms inside the component housings to light at an accelerated rate. The test is also used by some of our customers to simulate the ageing of magnets. In accordance with DIN EN 60749-33, the test stress in the autoclave is generally carried out over 96 h, with hot pressure storage in 100 % relative humidity, at 121 ± 2 °C and 202 kPa.
As an enhancement of the pressure cooker test, some of our customers also use the "highly accelerated stress test" (HAST test). As described in DIN EN 60068-2-66, this method is used for more stringent and accelerated moisture testing. As a rule, electronic components are exposed to the influence of moist heat at temperatures of 110 to 130°C. This allows the destructive influence of moist heat on the tested components to be assessed within a very short time.
Thanks to the wide range of options offered by Systec autoclaves, various production processes can be simulated in large autoclaves. These options include the steam/air mixture process, hot water sprinkling and spray cooling. This allows the processes in large autoclaves in the food, pharmaceutical and packaging industries to be planned and simulated in small-scale trials.
We are always keen to meet the wishes of our customers in the best possible way and to support their individual applications. In this respect, we already have many years of experience with custom-made products according to the needs of our customers, with services that go beyond our official product catalog. Examples of this category include
Do you have a special application and would like to find out whether it can be carried out in our autoclaves? We will be happy to answer your questions.