Overview
ISO 13640:2025 - Building and civil engineering sealants: Specifications for test substrates - defines standardized procedures for producing mortar, glass and anodized aluminium substrates used in sealant testing. The standard ensures reproducible, comparable test conditions by specifying substrate composition, dimensions and surface preparation. Note: the substrates are standardized indicators of sealant performance, not exact replicas of construction materials.
Key topics and technical requirements
- General dimensions
- Interface / sealant specimen: 50 mm × 12 mm.
- Typical substrate sizes (unless otherwise agreed): mortar 75 × 12 × 25 mm, glass 75 × 12 × 6 mm, anodized aluminium 75 × 12 × 5 mm.
- Mortar substrates
- Composition: cement (CEM I‑42,5) : sand (reference/National equivalent) : water with W/C = 0.3–0.5 (mass ratio 1:3 for cement:sand).
- Two preparation methods:
- M1 - vibration filling → smooth surface (vibrate layers, cure 24 h in mould, 28 days in distilled water).
- M2 - jolting → rough surface (jolting, brushing to expose sand, similar curing).
- Surface requirements: free of laitance, loose grains and release agents; adequate cohesive strength.
- Glass substrates
- Material: clear float glass with transmission factor ≥ 0.85 for nominal 6 mm thickness (ISO 16293 series).
- For high‑modulus sealants, reinforcement of flat glass may be required.
- Surface cleaning: wipe-on/wipe-off with acetone or isopropanol (single wipe) or immersion for 10 minutes followed by 10 minutes drying.
- Anodized aluminium substrates
- Alloys: AW 6060 (Al‑Mg‑Si) or AW 6063 (Al‑Mg0.7Si); temper T5 or T6 (EN 515).
- Anodization per ISO 7599 (clear anodized; class AA 15 or AA 20); sealing index ≤ 2 per ISO 2143.
- Cleaning: same wipe or immersion methods as for glass.
Applications and users
- Test laboratories performing adhesion, cohesion and durability tests on building sealants.
- Sealant manufacturers for product development, quality control and comparative testing.
- Specifiers, façade engineers and product certification bodies defining test protocols or assessing performance claims.
- Research and R&D groups evaluating sealant formulations against standardized substrate indicators.
Related standards
ISO 13640:2025 references and aligns with several standards used in preparation and testing:
- ISO 679:2009 (cement testing/mixing), ISO 16293‑1/2 (float glass), ISO 7599:2018 (anodizing), ISO 2143 (sealing dye‑spot), ISO 11431 (sealant adhesion tests), ISO 209, ISO 6927, ISO 6707‑1, EN 196‑1, EN 197‑1, EN 515.
Keywords: ISO 13640:2025, building sealants, test substrates, mortar substrates, glass substrates, anodized aluminium substrates, sealant testing, substrate preparation, reproducibility.
