Plastic and Plumbing Testing and R&D Lab Services

If you have questions related to the safety or performance of a product, NSF can help you design the right test to find the answer. We provide made-to-order independent and reliable testing and R&D services to help your company go beyond routine certification testing to demonstrate other aspects of a product’s safety and performance. Our staff of professional engineers, Ph.D. scientists and dedicated account managers support your research and development projects.

NSF expertise and professional R&D services help you expedite market entry for your plastic piping products separate from certification testing. Our tailor-made research and development capabilities include advanced chemical and structural testing on plastic pipes, fittings and valves, metal fittings and components, manifolds, solvent cements, thread sealants, PVC ingredients and plastic materials for your global applications.

We’ve conducted R&D-related testing for oxidation under applied stress, varying flow rates, temperature and pressure, and chemical exposures. We also provide testing to ASTM, CSA or other product standards using our expertise in the areas below.

Our 20,000 square-foot plastic testing lab in Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA, and our advanced laboratory in Longmont, Colorado, USA are part of our global network of ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratories throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia.

Oxidative Resistance Testing

We test the long-term impact of disinfectants on plastic material performance in multiple forms including pipe, plumbing components, fittings and test coupons with a fast turnaround.

Chlorine and Chloramine Testing for Rubber Material

We test rubber materials for a variety of applications (including faucets, flexible plumbing connectors, valves and fittings) to a variety of standards (including ASTM F2023, ASTM D6284, ASSE 1061 and custom-made test methodologies).

Pressure Testing

We have 1,900 stations in our pressure testing facility and can establish the long-term pressure/stress capabilities of the pipe per procedures such as PPI-TR3, ASTM D2837 and ISO 9080. We can also conduct testing to other pressure performance requirements as well as short-term burst testing on pipe as well as other plumbing system components.

Slow Crack Growth Validation/Rapid Crack Propagation Testing

These tests are critical to understanding the performance of piping, particularly in gas applications. They characterize the long-term and short-term performance of the material, respectively.

Testing for Large-Diameter Plastic Pipe

We can test large-diameter plastic piping with tubing diameters up to 36” Nominal Pipe Size. Materials we can test include PVC, PE and other materials.