All materials on exterior aircraft surfaces are subject to abrasion from airborne particles of various sizes and shapes. Transparent materials are particularly vulnerable to abrasion, since their performance is based on their ability to transmit light with a minimal amount of scatter. Scratches, pitting, and coating removal and delamination as a result of abrasion may increase scatter, reduce transmission, and degrade the performance of transparent materials. Visually transparent materials are required for pilot and air crew enclosures, such as canopies, windshields, and viewpoints. Materials transparent in the IR region (8 to 12 μm) are required for tracking, targeting, and navigational instrumentation.

This test method is intended to provide a calibrated and repeatable means of determining the relative abrasion resistance of materials and coatings for optical and IR transparent materials and coatings. The test parameters for this test method can be directly related to dust cloud densities and velocities to which transparent materials are exposed in the field.