Structural Testing Laboratory

MTS mechanical testing system

The state-of-the-art closed loop high-performance digital servo-controlled MTS mechanical testing system has a capacity of 22,000 lbs. With an integral actuator, crossheads, and force transducers, this machine is used for tension, high cycle fatigue, low cycle fatigue, creep, fatigue crack growth, and fracture toughness of materials. Mid-scale experiments using closed loop controlled tension, flexural, compression, and fracture tests can be conducted using this equipment.

Compression test frame

Servo hydraulic-controlled SBEL uniaxial compression mechanical test system has a capacity of 110,000 lbs. It is used for evaluation of compressive stress-strain response, captured by data acquisition system attached to the instrument. Cylindrical systems are used for testing.

VIC-3D™ Measurement System for digital image correlation (DIC)

DIC is a speckle tracking method that is used to determine the displacements of speckles in a digital image. It is a non-contact optical method for measuring full-field displacements and strains utilizing a pair of stereo-mounted digital cameras. The VIC-3D™ system offers good speed and accuracy for a wide range of quasi-static and dynamic applications. The measurement system has a high strain resolution of 0.005% (50 microstrain) or better. A wide range of strains can be measured (0.005% (global) to 2,000%). It offers resolution up to 1/100,000 and 1/50,000 times field of view for in-plane and out-of-plane direction respectively. DIC provides very useful information for evaluation of crack-propagation and strain-localization mechanisms in cementitious composites.