GMW16001 Water Intrusion Tests For Automotive Sealant

Automobile rubber sealant is one of the important parts of the car, widely used in doors, windows, car body, seats, sunroof, engine box and trunk and other parts, with waterproof, sealing, sound insulation, dustproof, anti-freeze, shock absorption, warm and energy-saving important role. The sealant can improve air tightness and prevent wind and rain from intruding into the carriage. Once the sealing strip is aging and damaged, it will cause rain leakage in the carriage, increase the noise of the driving wind of the car, and rain leakage is easy to make the car body rust. Thus, the water leak test of automotive sealant is essential. R-300 is a test chamber for water intrusion test of GWM16001. 

What is GMW16001

GWM 16001 is the test standard proposed by General Motors for the water leak test in 2018. It defines a set of benchmark tests to determine the sealing capability of any straight-through component from the outside to the inside to prevent water from entering the cabin. This procedure is applicable to any channel tightness test. 

Automotive sealants are only one of the test objects of GWM16001, but they are widely used in life, so we use this as an example to explore water intrusion testing.

This standard covers the following items:

• Seal water absorption test

• Low pressure spray test

• Water Submersion test

• High pressure water spray test

• Absolute minimum seal compression test

Low pressure spray test, high pressure water spray test and water submersion test are collectively referred to as the water intrusion test.

How to perform water intrusion test

1. Test Time

Heat Aging Time: 100 hx number of test pieces

Calendar time: 3 d to 5 d

Test time: 40 h

Coordination time: ≥4h

2. Specific Steps

• Low pressure spray test

With water box lid open, drain hole open and outlet of low-pressure hose aimed from above the pass-through (depending on pass-through type). Adjust water flow rate to 30 L/minute. Minimum test time of 3 minutes. During and at the completion of testing, inspect cabin side of pass-through for water leakage/seepage as nozzle is moved U/D and Left and Right Direction(s) (UR) toward pass-through target opening while changing direction every 5 s.

• Water Submersion Test

With drain hole closed, fill water box to a height minimum of 100 mm above the height of the pass-through. Minimum test time is 1 h. During and at the completion of testing, inspect cabin side of pass-through for water leakage/seepage.

• High Pressure Spray Test

With fid affixed to water box, drain hole open, and nozzle of high-pressure hose through the access hole apply high-pressure spray toward pass-through seal interface. Operating pressure set to 7.6 MPA (1100 psi/76 bar) at 13 L/minute. Spray from a distance of 300 mm from pass-through, sweeping across the point of interest from all directions. Minimum test time of 3 minutes. During and at the completion of testing, inspect cabin side of pass-through for water leakage/seepage as nozzle is moved U/D and L/R toward pass-through target opening while changing direction every 5 s.

The test item must pass each of these tests at least three times to be considered qualified.

Equipment for water intrusion test - R-300

When it comes to water spray tests, most people probably think of using the IP test chamber, for example, IPX67 for water submersion test, or IPX9K for high pressure spray test, but the fact is that the R-300 integrates all the test functions required for water intrusion testings, there is no doubt that it is the best choice for water intrusion test.

The main function of this equipment is to test the waterproof performance of the sealing strip under the conditions of high pressure/low pressure water jet. After the test, the performance of the product is judged to meet the requirements through verification, to facilitate the design, improvement, verification and factory inspection of the product.

•After opening a hole in the back of the tank and plugging the hole with sealant, and then, the tester carries out high-pressure flushing and low-pressure flushing against the tank in turn. After the end of the test, we check the water leakage after the tank.
•Such a test can be designed to simulate very high pressures, such as those found at car wash facilities or heavy rain. A qualified sealant should not allow any water to pass through, as if the test site had no aperture or channel.
•Low-pressure water sprays simulate the slow or light penetration of normal rainfall or water volume into the channels guarded by the sealant.

•Test area is made of 304 stainless-steel,mirror surface, rust-proof, high temperature and corrosion resistance;
•Test specimen is placed and fixed on turntable
•Equipped with a single-phase 16A internal power interface to power up the test specimen
•Turntable rotation speed is 1~5 r/min, which can be adjustable
•The test device consists of pressurized water pump, flow meter, water pipe, shunt device.
•The test device consists of high pressure spray nozzle and low pressure spray hose
•Water is sprayed from the nozzle, and the flow rate is controlled by electromagnetic flow meter

Detailed parameter

Xi'an LIB is a manufacturer specializing in the field of environmental test chambers for long, we have a professional and mature technical team and engineers, and a standardized production line. We can not only provide you with standard products, but also special customized products according to your testing requirements, such as R-300. 

If you have special testing needs, and can not find a 100% match with the test chamber on our website, you can contact us at any time, we will give you a perfect customized solution.