Resources

We have the capacity to perform about 20 tests simultaneously. Our test frames that are used to characterize material behavior can be divided into four categories:

• MTS Test Frames: we use these frames to perform low-to-high-strain-rate tensile tests, LCF (low cycle fatigue), HCF (high-cycle fatigue), TMF (in-phase and out-of-phase thermo-mechanical fatigue), SRP (strain-range partition), step loading and cycle-and-hold tests. All these frames are equipped with induction heaters or heating chambers with refined controls in order to avoid temperature gradients within the specimen, at necessary heating and cooling rates.

• Creep Test Frames: each of these special frames is equipped with a heating chamber, and a load-control mechanism to perform constant load creep tests.
• CNC Lathes and Milling machines: in order to achieve high reliability and traceability, we create our own samples from bulk blanks, and/or directly from parts themselves. These machines help us with bulk machining, refined machining within a certain tolerance, and polishing to within microns in order to avoid any surface defects playing a role in actual testing.

Our data acquisition is very CAE-centric and reliable. For example, the output data reflects only mechanical response that matters for the constitutive equations by filtering out any Eigen strain responses (due to coefficient of thermal expansion). Thermal strains are measured with tests that proactively avoid hysteresis effects due to thermal-gradients within the specimen.