Footwear made up of rubber are from ancient times but they are still most widely used and are preferred. The fact behind their preferences is that these footwear are easy to use and comfortable. They are resistant to different environmental conditions such as sunlight and heat exposure, water retention etc. Besides this, rubber footwear faces the problems of ozone gas. As we know ozone is present in our atmosphere and it affects various products. Similarly, it has its effects on rubber footwear. It causes cracks in them as a result their durability is reduced. So, to prevent the ozone effects the footwears are tested in an Ozone chamber to assess their performance in harsh ozone conditions.
Effects of Ozone Exposure on Rubber Footwear
Ozone is a gas which is present in our atmosphere. It is not part of our atmosphere, but it entered into our atmosphere due to global warming. Thus it affects different rubber products including rubber footwear and damages its quality. Footwear made up of rubber contains a percentage of rubber and the chemical bonds inside rubber can easily break on their exposure to ozone gas and as a result, cracks appear on rubber. So, to prevent these cracks manufacturers must need ti to know the actual resistance of rubber footwear before selling them in the market.
A perfect tool for testing ozone effects on rubber footwear(Ozone Chamber)
Due to the different effects of ozone on rubber footwear, they are cracked due to poor quality. The number of years in which the material failed to perform can only be decided after their inspection in the same environment. It is done only by conducting a quality test by creating an ozone environment. This test is done by using a machine known as an ozone test chamber. It helps the manufacturers evaluate the effects of ozone on rubber footwear in a few hours of testing.
Testing Procedure
In the ozone test chamber, the sample to be tested is exposed to the artificial ozone environment and hence it is tested. This instrument has a microprocessor-based monitor that is sensitive to temperature changes. It allows the users to check the actual amount of ozone gas and temperature given to the sample while testing. It also can expose humidity, so one can test the ozone, humidity and Temperature ranges on their products.
Overall, testing rubber footwear with an ozone test chamber helps manufacturers assess the durability of their products on prolonged exposure to ozone gas.