• Hours of operation, public holidays
• Procedure for reports and returns during holidays
• 2020 Public Holidays
• How do I get a test program going?
• What information do I need to provide to you?
• How do I know my test program has begun?
• I now have all the information I want, and need to cancel the test program — is that OK?
• What are costs and billing procedures?
• Exposure cost structure
• Report cost structure
• How does accelerated testing relate to fixed-rack exposure?
• How does testing at Allunga compare with Southern Florida, Okinawa, and other sites?

Hours of operation, public holidays

Allunga is open from 8 am to 6 pm, Monday to Friday. We close for all public holidays in Australia. Allunga also closes for the Christmas and New Year season.

Christmas and New Closure 2015: From 24 December 2015 to 04 January 2016.

Email and phone messages are montiored during holiday breaks, and staff are available if needed.

Procedure for reports and returns of test samples that occur during holidays

Test samples are brought in on the correct date. Reports and returns then occur when the laboratory re-opens.

2020 Public Holidays

• New Year’s Day: 01 January 2020
  
• Australia Day: 26 January 2020
  
• Good Friday: 10 April 2020
• Easter Saturday: 11 April 2020
• Easter Monday: 13 April 2020
• Anzac Day: 25 April 2020 (Saturday)
  
• Labour Day: 04 May 2020 (Monday)
• Townsville Show Day: 06 July 2020 (Monday)
  
• Queen’s Birthday: 05 October 2020 (Monday)
  
• Christmas Day: 25 December 2020 (Friday)
• Boxing Day: 28 December 2020 (Monday)
  

How do I get a test program going?

Please feel free to contact Allunga at any time to discuss any proposed testing program or any aspect of weathering-exposure tests in general.

Note: It is best to contact us first before sending test samples.

If your testing program is to comply with national, corporate, or other specification(s) please advise the reference details of the specification concerned.

What information do I need to provide to you?

We need a thorough understanding of your test program requirements. Please provide:

• Test Specification, Standard etc. if applicable.
• Exposure site: Townsville, High-rainfall mould (Tully) Marine (Halifax Bay) or Arid (Richmond/Hughenden)
• Exposure type and/or angle e.g.
  • Open exposures can be adjusted for any angle. The most common are 45° , 20° & 5° North Open, but horizontal (0°) and vertical (90°) are also common.
  • Specific exposure types such as Black Box and Hot Rack
  • Acclerated exposure such as Altrac or TracRac.
• Duration (if known)
• Any report or return intervals
• The parameters of any reports (also see Reports, below).
• Photos
• Other requirements (such as polishing, waxing, washing etc.)
• Order Number to be quoted on invoices, if necessary

When samples arrive at Allunga with incomplete instructions the program is paused until the client can be contacted and the details of the testing program resolved.

How do I know my test program has begun?

Once we have all the information we need for the test program, the samples and details are entered into the AEL system. An ‘Exposure Confirmation’ note is then emailed to you which  specifies the program details and samples.  This is your opportunity to check that we have everything correctly recorded, and/or to change anything about the test program. This includes the freight address to which we will return the test samples.

I now have all the information I want, and need to cancel the test program — is that OK?

It is perfectly all right to recall individual samples, or to cancel a test program earlier than you might have originally specified. In those cases, the samples are withdrawn and freighted back to you (if you wish). The date you contact us is the date we use for the program end date. However, charges for the month of exposure will still apply.

What are costs and billing procedures?

The cost of exposure and reporting services at Allunga Exposure Laboratory are very competitive. Costs are calculated separately for exposure and reports.

Exposure cost structure

Allunga’s exposure cost structure is based on the cumulative total of samples a client has on test in a given month, independent of the number of series involved or their timing. As the monthly cumulative total rises incremental per-sample exposure cost decreases in five steps. Allunga also offers attractive discounts for large test samples.

Report cost structure

Reports are costed on the type of parameter in the test and the number of test samples.

Please contact us for a quote for a specific project or for further details of Allunga’s fees schedule for Exposure and Reporting Services.

Emailed invoices

Invoices are emailed to clients on a monthly basis. However quarterly, bi-monthly and 6-monthly schedules can also be requested.

How does accelerated testing relate to fixed-rack exposure?

This is a complex question that becomes more complex as the acceleration factor increases.

Often indications of material performance are required faster than can be discerned by fixed-rack exposure testing. Accelerated testing offers faster results which must be considered carefully.

Consideration of the available literature on this issue makes clear that accelerated testing can be a useful guide to fixed-rack performance but should be treated with caution. Knowledge of the materials on test and an understanding of the testing options available makes design of the testing programme and interpretation of the test results easier. Allunga’s staff are ready to discuss these aspects of accelerated testing with you.

All of the accelerated testing options offered by Allunga three (Seasonal-Angles, Tracrac, and Altrac) have the distinct advantage of using the natural spectrum.

Seasonal-Angles* exposure has an approximate acceleration rate of 1.125 (in radiation terms) and correlation with fixed rack exposure is excellent.Click here to read more about Seasonal-Angles.

Tracrac exposure has an approximate acceleration rate of 1.4  (in radiation terms) and correlation with fixed rack exposure is excellent. Click here to read more about Tracrac.

Altrac exposure has a long term acceleration rate of 4.5 – 6 (in radiation terms) and correlation while good requires material composition and testing regime to be considered. Click here to read more about Altrac.

Allunga also has a Salt Spay Cabinet available for a rang of accelerated corrosion testing programs.

In many cases accelerated exposure programs are used to indicate the direction of material performance. Often such programs use accelerated testing as part of a coordinated exposure program with fixed-rack exposure of similar materials.

How does testing at Allunga compare with Southern Florida, Okinawa, and other sites?

Townsville experiences annual average solar incident radiation levels of approximately 180,000 langleys or 7500 MJ/m² (global radiation), and 400 MJ/mn² UV-R (A+B).

Townsville, like Okinawa and Southern Florida, has a complex coastal climate. Yet whereas Okinawa and Miami are at an approximate latitude of 26°, Townsville is at 19°. The difference is significant: Townsville’s climate is not only more severe, it is also truly tropical, and more constant (less affected by season).

Lower latitude means a shorter atmospheric path length, higher radiation levels, higher UV radiation levels (less UV scattering and absorption), higher temperature levels, and reduced seasonal variation. This means faster and more uniform testing.

Corresponding geographic references near the latitude of 19° in the northern hemisphere are: Grand Cayman in the Caribbean, Mexico City and Veracruz, and the northern Philippines in the Pacific.

Northern hemisphere latitudes are :

• Miami : 26°
• Okinawa : 26°N
• Honolulu : 21°N
• Hanoi : 21°N
• Hong Kong : 23°N
• Canary Islands : 28°N
• Cyprus : 35°N

For Australia and New Zealand it is useful to keep the following latitudes in mind:

• Townsville: 19° S
• Brisbane: 27° S
• Perth: 33° S
• Sydney: 34° S
• Auckland: 37° S
• Melbourne: 38° S

It is always possible to choose sites with skewed climates that accentuate one environmental parameter. Depending on knowledge of the material on test and the aims of the testing program such sites can be used to advantage.

Allunga operates three such special purpose sites (mould, corrosion and arid) in tropical northern Australia. Click here to read about those sites