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This area provides test data to characterize the mechanical integrity
of molded resin castings and composites. The group performs many American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) test procedures.
Part of this laboratory is a well equipped sample preparation area, which
includes diamond saws, sanders, surface grinders, and special support
fixtures to accurately and precisely prepare the specimens for testing.
The test data is used to qualify materials for customer specifications, to
help design materials for optimum end-use performance, or to evaluate
the effects of exposure environments on mechanical integrity.
- Modulus
(stiffness), strength, and elongation of a material.
- Fatigue
information concerning the resilience of a material to cyclical loading.
Applicable to resin castings, composites, laminates, and sections of
molded parts.
- Creep displacement of a sample as a function of time under
a constant load.
- Lap shear
testing to measure the adhesive and/or cohesive strength of a bonded
laminate.
- High Velocity Impact Test System
- Heat deflection temperature (HDT) measurements to provide distortion temperatures as well as VICAT softening point data. Besides the final failure temperature values, this technique also generates the deflection or penetration profile, which can provide additional information about a material's thermal transitions and, thus, a better understanding of the material's mode of failure.
- Poisson's Ratio to determine the change in width per unit width relative to the change in length per unit length upon deformation and it is used for engineering design and characterizing the micromechanics of materials.
- Melt Flow index to measure the flow of molten polymers through a small orifice under prescribed weights, which is useful for material acceptance and for processing modifications during the molding of thermoplastics.
 Instron Dynatup Model 9250 High Velocity Impact Test System can achieve 30 mph. Calculated values include the force and energy for crack initiation to the final breaking of the sample.
- Impact resistance as a function of temperature and speed (30 mph max.)
- ASTM and ISO test plaque analysis
- Molded part analysis
- Puncture testing
- Surface crack resistance evaluations
- Plastics, composites, laminates and coated substrates
 Some materials can fail prematurely during mechanical testing due to induced stresses or micro-cracks caused by contacting extensometers used to measure the strain (elongation). Some materials show a very high elongation prior to failure, which makes it difficult to measure the ultimate elongation and an accurate modulus for the material from one experiment. The video extensometer can be used to overcome these problems because it does not physically contact the sample. Analyses can be directed to specific regions of the digitized stress-strain curve for detailed and accurate characterization of the material's mechanical performance. The non-contacting nature of the video extensometer means that the unit can be mounted outside of the hostile sample environment, therefore eliminating the effects of temperature on the strain measurement. This technology is ideal for brittle castings, rubber, thin plastic films, metal wire, high-elongation (rough) polymers and composites.
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