Designing an Accelerated Test Method to Determine the Design Life of Building Joint Sealant Using the ASTM C1850 Procedure

Determining design life in less than real time has eluded researchers for decades. ASTM has recently issued a new standard, ASTM C1850, that outlines a procedure for developing accelerated testing methods to determine the design life of a sealant. This paper will use this new standard as a template to examine the ongoing research at NIST. The results will demonstrate where significant progress has been made.