Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

étuve

English translation:

environmental chamber (climatic chamber) for rapid temperature change

Added to glossary by Johannes Gleim
Aug 2, 2015 15:25
9 yrs ago
14 viewers *
French term

étuve

French to English Tech/Engineering Engineering (general) Equipment / materials testing
This is a temperature-controlled enclosure used for testing all kinds of materials and/or equipment — in my specific instance, it is electronic equipment, but that isn't really relevant.

I have of course checked the glossary, but none of the suggestions there seem to me satisfactory in my specific context — which is that this enclosure is used for both HOT testing and also COLD! The specific tests I am concerned with involve testing at +60 °C and –20 °C.

I don't know the actual size of this enclosure, but for the particular tests being described, it wouldn't need to be particularly large — and probably wouldn't have to be, as it is being used for abrupt temperature changes (thermal shock), and so mustn't have too great a thermal inertia.

Now I got most of the way through my document quite content to use the word 'oven' in EN — until I got to the part where it started talking about the cold testing at –ve temperatures; it just feels so silly talking about an 'oven' for cooling things down!

I don't think this can be as big as a 'room'; I would have been happy to use 'temperature-controlled enclosure', except that it is a bit cumbersome to be repeated as often as it occurs in my document; ditoo '...chamber' etc.

If all else fails, I may have to go with 'temperature-controlled enclosure' the first time and just shorten that to 'enclosure' thereafter.

Any experts out there who can give me the 'pproper' term, if there is one? I shall continue to do my own research, but with my deadline looming, I'm under a bit of pressure to find the answer quickly...

Thanks in advance!
Change log

Aug 17, 2015 13:18: Johannes Gleim Created KOG entry

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): GILLES MEUNIER

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Discussion

Johannes Gleim Aug 3, 2015:
@ patricfor not astonishing to find French pages. Weiss is a worldwide well-known company for these types of appliances.

BTW: Your pages lists types WT, WT3, WTL and others, similar or identical to that cited by me.
patrickfor Aug 3, 2015:
@Tony
I found a company doing this sort of things (with temps from -40/+180 and vol 34l/150l) called enceintes thermiques... there is an english version of the docs but couldn't open or download any of them...
http://www.weissfr.com/fr/produits/enceinte-thermique.php#WT...
chris collister Aug 2, 2015:
I've used a lot of these things in the past: when they were hot, we called them "ovens" when they were cold we called them "cold chambers"! I can't remember what we called them when they were at room temperature... I'm fairly certain the manufacturers called them "environmental test chambers" or "temperature controlled test chambers", or sometimes "climatic chambers" if humiditywas involved.
Tony M (asker) Aug 2, 2015:
More context I've just discovered that this particular 'oven' must be quite small, as it has 'racks' in it — though I suspect possibly a little larger than an ordinary domestic oven.

Proposed translations

+2
6 hrs
Selected

environmental chamber (climatic chamber) for rapid temperature change

Connectors for electronic equipment - Tests and measurements - Part 11-4: Climatic tests; Test 11d: Rapid change of temperature (IEC 60512-11-4:2002); German version EN 60512-11-4:2002

An environmental chamber, also called climatic chamber or climate chamber, is an enclosure used to test the effects of specified environmental conditions on biological items, industrial products, materials, and electronic devices and components.

Such a chamber can be used:

as a stand-alone test for environmental effects on test specimensas preparation of test specimens for further physical tests or chemical testsas environmental conditions for conducting testing of specimens

An environmental test chamber artificially replicates the conditions under which machinery, materials, devices or components might be exposed. It is also used to accelerate the effects of exposure to the environment, sometimes at conditions not actually expected.

These conditions may include:

extreme temperatures
sudden and extreme temperature variations
moisture or relative humidity
electrodynamic vibrations
electromagnetic radiation
salt spray
rain
weathering exposure to sun, causing UV degradation

vacuum

Manufactured samples, specimens, or components are placed inside the chamber and subjected to one or more of these environmental parameters to determine reliability or measure after-effects such as corrosion. In the case of machinery such as internal combustion engines, byproducts such as emissions are monitored.

An environmental chamber can be a small room used both to condition testspecimens and to conduct the test. It can be a smaller unit that's used for conditioning test items. Also, some chambers are small enough to be placed onto auniversal testing machine or other test apparatus.

Many chambers are set at a certain set of conditions. Others can be programmed to cycle through specified sequences of conditions.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climatic_chamber

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Note added at 6 hrs (2015-08-02 22:03:30 GMT)
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Note: I used such chambers for testing electrical appliances and devices prior to apply for international approvals (UL, CSA, BEAB, UTE, ...).

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Note added at 20 hrs (2015-08-03 11:34:02 GMT)
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Comparaison avec des appareils de laboratoire similaires
Enceinte thermostatique vs appareils de laboratoire similaires Appareil Gamme de température d’utilisation
(exemple)
Enceinte thermostatique d’une machine de traction Version standard : de l’ambiante +5 °C à 220 °C
En option : température minimale de −70 °C3
Étuve de laboratoire universelle De l’ambiante +5 °C à 300 °C
Four De 300 à 1 000 °C
Congélateur domestique Température minimale : −30 °C
Congélateur basse température Température minimale : −85 °C
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chambre_d'essai

Une étuve de laboratoire est un appareil de chauffage fonctionnant le plus souvent à la pression atmosphérique (parfois sous vide ou sous gaz neutre) et permettant d'effectuer divers traitements thermiques à température régulée. Les laboratoires d'analyse ou de recherche en sont souvent pourvus.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Étuve_de_laboratoire
linked to
Laboratory ovens are ovens for high-forced volume thermal convection applications. These ovens generally provide uniform temperatures throughout. Process applications for laboratory ovens can be for annealing, die-bond curing, drying, Polyimide baking, sterilizing, and other industrial laboratory functions. Typical sizes are from one cubic foot to 0.9 cubic metres (32 cu ft) with temperatures that can be over 340 degrees Celsius.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laboratory_oven

Conclusion: We do not deal with laboratory ovens, but with climate/climatic/environmental chambers, as a laboratory oven is not used for cyclic temperature changes.

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Note added at 20 hrs (2015-08-03 11:52:59 GMT)
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Training in the chamber can be carried out on various ergometers whilst attending staff carry out physiological studies on willing test subjects.
Temperatures ranges are available from -40°C to +50°C
with variable humidity from 5%RH to 98%RH
https://www.google.de/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd...

Temperature and Climate Test Chambers and Rooms
Characteristics, function and service life of systems or components are influenced by varying thermal and climatic conditions during transport, storage and use. For this reason, tests have to be carried out in order to safeguard and optimise the quality of the product. The temperature and climate test chambers produced by Weiss Umwelt technik set standards with regard to ease of operation, performance and equipment.
http://www.weiss.info/en/products/temperature_and_climate_te...

Stability Test and Climate Cycling Chambers
Developed and Proven for Stability Climate Tests
Our climate cabinet WK3-0 was designed to simulate different climates and/or seasonal climates and the climatic zones of the world, in particular for long-term and accelerated stability tests.
The specimens which have to be exposed to a long-term test and/or an accelerated service life test played a primary role throughout the entire development and construction process.
http://www.weiss.info/en/products/temperature_and_climate_te...

Environmental Stress Screening (ESS)
Reliable testing to guarantee safety
High product reliability is a basic requirement for today’s competitive market and is often the only difference between the various manufacturers. The reliability of electronic prod ucts can be substantially improved by the use of environmental stress screening (ESS) techniques to minimize the risk of errors and failures of products and simultaneously im prove the reputation of a company.

The ESS test
During the ESS test, the products are subject to precisely defined stress so that defects in components and PCBs can be detected before leaving the manufacturer’s plant. Detecting weak points considerably improves the robustness of the products. Unreliable systems are filtered out before they reach the customers. Each product requires a specially adapted ESS technique.
http://www.weiss.info/en/products/environmental_stress_scree...

WTS 3/WKS 3
Test Systems for rapid temperature cycling
The test systems based on the well-tried modules of the WT and WK series with increased power for heating, cooling and circulating air and test cabinet volumes of 190 to 1540 litres are capable of meeting virtually all requirements of current ESS testing.
http://www.weiss.info/en/products/environmental_stress_scree...

Temperature Shock Test Chambers: The Stress Limit for Your Product
The test chamber consists of two independently controlled chambers, one hot and one cold chamber. These are positioned on top of each other. A temperature shock between hot and cold is achieved by rapid transferring the specimens placed in a lift. The specimens are exposed to a shock wised temperature change.
Features

• Test space 60 l
• Vertical order of the chamber for safe and quick test performance
• Regular temperature distribution in test space via a high recirculating rate with optimum air flow
• Hot chamber temperatures of +50 °C to +220 °C
• Cold chamber temperatures of –80 °C to +70 °C
• Alternating time between the chambers <10 sec.
• More than 1,000 cycles are possible without defrosting via a standard integrated volume compensation system for continuously operation
http://www.weiss.info/en/products/environmental_stress_scree...

Note: The context would suggest that the temperature in the chamber is changed rapidly, rather than to transfer the specimen from one chamber into another and back. Therefore I wouldn’t use the latter term “Temperature Shock Test Chamber”

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Note added at 20 hrs (2015-08-03 11:59:06 GMT)
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Benchtop Temperature-only Test Chambers
The low noise, high performance Weiss and Vötsch Temperature-only Test Chambers are ideal where laboratory space is limited. Highly mobile; they only require a single phase electrical supply.
The chambers are available in a range of capacities from 16 to 240 litre.
Further test options are available dependent upon user requirements including observation window, compressed air dryer and additional shelving.
• Choice of temperature range:
-40°C to +130°C
-40°C to +180°C
-75°C to +180°C
• Choice of capacities - 16, 37, 64, 120 and 240 litre
http://weiss-uk.com/products/temperature-and-climatic-testin...
Peer comment(s):

agree mchd
7 hrs
Thank you!
agree chris collister
17 hrs
Thank you!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Danke Johannes! In the end, I managed to find out the manufactuer of the actual device in question, and this is indeed the term 'environmental chamber' that they themselves use for it. So I think this is the best solution in my particular context."
+2
14 mins

temperature chamber

See, for example: http://www.testequity.com/products/598/ .

"Environmental chamber" is a more general term to describe a chamber in which other environmental parameters (e.g. humidity, pressure...) can be varied.

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Note added at 3 hrs (2015-08-02 18:28:30 GMT)
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"Thermal shock test chamber" is a better fit, because whatever is being tested is subjected to a thermal shock. See, for example: http://weiss-uk.com/products/environmental-stress-screening/...
Note from asker:
Thanks a lot for your contribution, Marco! I feel sure this owuld work fine in many circumstances, but in the end, I chose another solution for my particular context.
Peer comment(s):

agree Charles Davis : Possibly even better "thermal chamber" or "thermal test chamber", but I think "chamber" is probably the word. See http://www.intestthermal.com/products/chambers/overview
35 mins
agree Nikki Scott-Despaigne
5 hrs
neutral Johannes Gleim : A Thermal shock test chamber has different chambers with different climates. The context says "enclosure is used for both HOT testing and also COLD!". Only "environmental chamber" would fit.
20 hrs
neutral chris collister : Not necessarily thermal shock - since component failure rates increase exponentially with temperature, many boards are subjected to "soak tests" until they fail.
1 day 0 min
Something went wrong...
11 hrs

heating chamber

This is a chamber which is thermostatically controlled used for testing the materials at different temperatures.
In electronics, an equipment to test the proper functioning of the electronic circuits at a given temperature.
Note from asker:
Thanks for your contribution, Narasimha! In view of the fact that I needed one that both heats AND cools, I didn't feel this was the best solution in this instance
Peer comment(s):

neutral chris collister : Usually referred to simply as "ovens" if purely for heating purposes.
12 hrs
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

15 mins
Reference:

(environmental / temperature) test chambers for electronic equipment

VOC Test Chambers - Special Solutions - Weiss Technik UK
weiss-uk.com/products/special-solutions/voc-testing-chambers
The chambers have numerous fields of application including testing of consumer products and materials, passenger cars, electronic equipment, varnish, dyes, ...

Environmental Testing Chambers: QTPE.co.uk
www.qtpe.co.uk/
QTP Environmental Ltd is a leading supplier of high quality Environmental Test Chambers for the testing of high technology electronic equipment within the ...

Test Requirements for Electrical / Electronic Equipment and ...
www.gl-group.com/infoServices/rules/pdfs/gl_vi-7-2_e.pdf
mechanical and electronic equipment, computers and peripherals. 2. The scope ..... The equipment under test is placed in the test chamber at room temperature ...

Laboratory Test Chambers - Labcompare
www.labcompare.com/...Test-Equipment/9-Laboratory-Test-Stab...
Compare Laboratory Test Chambers across manufacturers and specifications. ... and AGREE (Advisory Group on Reliability of Electronic Equipment) testing, ...

MPI Thermal - Thermal Cycling and Temperature Test ...
www.mpi-thermal.com/
Jul 4, 2015 - micro test chambers and temperature test equipment is what we ... Learn More. Environmental Temperature Testing of Automotive Electronics ...

Electronic Test - MPI Thermal
www.mpi-thermal.com/applications/electronic-test/
Jul 4, 2015 - ThermalAir TA-5000 temperature testing equipment and chambers can thermal test any electronic, electromechanical, and non-electronic ...
Peer comments on this reference comment:

agree Johannes Gleim : We used climate chambers from Weiss.
6 hrs
thanks
Something went wrong...
22 hrs
Reference:

Thermal chamber

Webpage shows photos. It looks quite small.

"Optimal test environments require thermal chambers configured for device size, temperature range, transition speed and device access. Sigma Systems' chamber capabilities include:

High air flow, promoting fast cycling, low gradients, and consistent test results
Wide temperature range: -185 to 500°C or anywhere in between
Industry’s smallest footprint for given interior workspace
Cooling and heating rates up to 100°C per minute
Thermal shock in a single chamber and MIL-STD testing"
Something went wrong...
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