MIL-STD-810 Test Method 520.3 –
Temp/Humidity/Vibration/Altitude
Quick look:
- Tests a combination of environmental factors
- Includes high and low temperature, humidity, altitude and vibration
- Combines Methods 500, 501, 502, 507 and 514
About MIL-STD-810 Method 520
Method 520 is a combination of the following test methods, including high temperature, low temperature, humidity, altitude and vibration.
- Method 500
- Method 501
- Method 502
- Method 507
- Method 514
By combining these into a single test, you get a cross-effect of multiple tests associated with the material that you’re trying to qualify. This allows you to see if a combination of certain factors creates a problem. For example, the individual tests for vibration only and humidity only, might pass without issue, but layering these two factors together may further stress your unit.
This type of testing is usually reserved for relatively extreme environments, like a missile launch or rugged altitude—a high-terrain vehicle, fighter jet or aircraft—where a combination of environmental effects are in play, so you need to test them together to see the cumulative effects on the unit at one time.
It’s critical that testing is tailored to your specific specs to ensure the test is valid for what you’re trying to accomplish. It’s very easy to over or under test, so you need to tailor appropriately to get the information you need without driving cost into the system or creating a potential liability.