Patent ID: 6955092

Claim:
A method for determining the stress-relaxation characteristics of a sealant, wherein the test method comprises: applying a sealant material layer between the inner surface of a first plate and the inner surface of a second plate, whereby the first plate, second plate, and sealant material layer collectively form a test assembly; disposing a first end of a male fastener component through the first plate, sealant material layer, and second plate of the test assembly and connecting the first end to a mating fastener component, whereby the male fastener component and the connected mating fastener component collectively form a fastener assembly; providing an initial tension load upon the fastener assembly thereby compressing the first plate and second plate together; measuring the elongation of the male fastener component at the initial load and at an initial temperature; heating the test assembly to a second temperature for a period of time and then lowering the temperature to the initial temperature; and, measuring the elongation of the male fastener to determine the tension load remaining on the fastener after heating.