Accredited testing laboratory for aviation

Since March 2020, parts of the laboratories at the Bremen site have been recognized under the Nadcap conformity system relevant to the aviation industry. The successfully obtained Nadcap "accreditation" as an independent testing laboratory in the field of chemical processing applies, among other things, to the cross-cut test according to DIN EN ISO 2409 and the salt spray test according to DIN EN ISO 9227, which are important for coatings.
In the field of Non-Metallic Materials Testing (NMMT) recognition has been valid since June 2021 for the testing of composite materials (CFRP) according to AITM 1-0053 (G1c procedure).

In the aerospace sector, special boundary conditions and specifications exist with regard to the reliability, reproducibility and traceability of production processes and test procedures in order to meet safety requirements. In order to meet these requirements in a comparable manner, the major aviation companies, including Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, MTU and Rolls-Royce, have organized themselves since 1990 under the Nadcap program (National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program) and defined uniform boundary conditions and requirements.

The Nadcap program is administered and coordinated by the Performance Review Institute (PRI) based in the USA (Warrendale, Pennsylvania). Since Fraunhofer IFAM has been a strategic research and development partner of the European aerospace industry for several decades and would like to further strengthen and expand its position, strategic preparations were made to obtain Nadcap recognition in addition to the laboratory accreditation according to DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025, which has already existed since 1996. First step of implementation

took place in March 2020 with a Nadcap accreditation “Chemical Processing” (CP) with a focus on the salt spray test (corrosion test) according to DIN EN ISO 9227 as well as the cross-cut test (coating test) according to DIN EN ISO 2409. An extension of the Nadcap-recognised testing portfolio to include the G1C procedure according to AITM 1-0053 was implemented in June 2021 with the corresponding Nadcap accreditation “Non-Metallic Materials Testing” (NMMT).

This means that Fraunhofer IFAM, as an independent laboratory, is now in a position to carry out corresponding tests in the field of aviation in accordance with Nadcap and to certify this. This means that Fraunhofer IFAM customers can use the results obtained directly for the development of flying materials and coatings.

Read more about our activities for the aviation industry here.

Would you like to know which certifications and accreditations Fraunhofer IFAM uses to guarantee the quality of its research work and services? Read more about it here.