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The Polymer Technology Laboratory (LATE) of the Rey Juan Carlos University has just obtained accreditation in accordance with the UNE-EN ISO/IEC 17025 standard, granted by ENAC (National Accreditation Entity), for the determination of the strain hardening modulus (Strain Hardening Module) and its relationship with resistance to slow crack growth (ISO 18488.). This test will be essential to be able to validate the new ultra-resistant pipe materials (PE100RC grades) for water and gas conduction. This represents a clear leap in quality compared to its predecessors (PE100 grades) by achieving a service life of more than 100 years and without the need for a sand bed during the installation process, with the consequent reduction in cost, as well as less environmental disturbance.
To evaluate the raw material of these pipe grades, it is also necessary to carry out two tests that LATEP has available in its catalog of services: Crack Round Bar Test (ISO 18489) and Accelerated Full Notch Creep Test (ISO 16770). The differential fact of LATEP lies, according to its director Carlos Domínguez, in that “it is the only laboratory both in Spain and in its surrounding countries capable of carrying out the three tests to validate these new ultra-resistant resins. All this contributes even more to the fact that LATEP has been for years an internationally recognized laboratory with important collaborations worldwide”.
A certified and accredited laboratory in the URJC Laboratory Network
LATEP carries out more than 50 different analysis methods with an annual average of 7.000 tests. Another fact that shows the uniqueness of this laboratory at the Rey Juan Carlos University is that it is the first to be both certified, according to ISO 9001, for carrying out characterization tests on polymeric materials, and accredited, according to the UNE-EN ISO/IEC standard. 17025, for the determination of the Strain Hardening. With this new milestone, the LATEP reaches the highest level of excellence since its establishment at the URJC in 2004.
To this good news, LATEP adds the fact of "being in the year with the greatest number of projects and services carried out in its entire historical series", according to Rafael García, the researcher in charge of the laboratory. “The relevance of the activities carried out in LATEP is evident in its volume of income, more than eight million euros since 2004, and the collaboration with more than 70 public and private organizations”, he concludes.
