The environmental conditions that can be reproduced by climate tests are extremely varied.
Alongside the more common ones, such as the alteration of temperature and humidity values, there are environmental conditions that we rarely consider in everyday life, such as atmospheric pressure.
We have already talked about the decompression chamber or hyperbaric chamber, which simulates high-pressure environments or below sea level.
In today's article, we will talk about the inverse, the pressure chamber or altitude chamber.
What is the Pressure Chamber for?
The pressure chamber, also known as the altitude chamber or hypobaric chamber, serves to reproduce the environmental conditions typical of a high or very high altitude environment.
The first parameter to consider with increasing altitude is the atmospheric pressure.
In everyday life, we do not even feel that we are burdened with the weight of a kilometre-long column of air which, at sea level, has a mass of about 1.30 kg.
By increasing the altitude, the length of this column decreases and consequently its mass so that the effects on people and things become sensitive and impossible to ignore.
The atmospheric pressure is also influenced by temperature and humidity, factors which are therefore essential to the altitude test in the pressure chamber, as we will see.
The pressure chamber is able to accurately alter all these parameters and faithfully reproduce the environmental conditions that people and things will encounter at a certain altitude.
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How the Pressure Chamber is Made
The pressure chamber is an environment isolated from the outside in which it is possible to alter the atmospheric pressure values. The dimensions of these chambers vary greatly depending on the use: there are laboratory pressure chambers, relatively small, intended for tests on products and materials as well as pressure chambers the size of a room - called walk-ins- to perform human testing.
Generally, the pressure chambers are able to simulate an altitude of 30,000 meters but in particular cases, the range can be extended up to as much as 45,000.
Some standard pressure chambers only perform this function, but most have the ability to alter at least one other parameter and are called:
- Thermostatic: if they have pressure and temperature control
- Climatic: if they have control of pressure, temperature and humidity
The Altitude Test on People and Materials
The main use of the pressure chamber is to experience the effect of the progressive or sudden change in altitude on people or materials to monitor its effects.
When it comes to pressure chamber material testing, it is the aeronautics and aerospace industries that are primarily involved.
For example, the various components of an aircraft must pass a rigorous series of tests before being approved, especially as regards the electronic components on board which must maintain correct functioning even in the face of sudden changes in pressure.
Like objects, people also need to be prepared before reaching certain quotas. In fact, the users of walk-in pressure chambers are mainly military aviators who are trained to experience the symptoms of hypoxia, i.e. the condition in which the body or a region of the body is deprived of an adequate supply of oxygen at the level of the tissues.
It should be noted that some professional athletes also use hypobaric chamber treatments to improve performance. Treatments are so efficient that in some countries it is considered doping!
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