FFM lab
Material characterisation for component lifetime, surface properties and instabilities of the structural components.
Description
The fatigue and fracture of materials (FFM) research laboratory focuses on material characterisation for component lifetime, surface properties and instabilities of the structural components.
Our current research activities include
- computational fracture mechanics using finite element methods to simulate complex mechanical problems
- fatigue fracture of materials including metals, plastics and composites
- tribology and wear
- structural integrity
- metal machining (with focus on the computational modelling of the process)
- role of the microstructure and material composition of the fatigue and fracture
The FFM lab is equipped with experimental machines to run static, fatigue, hardness and wear measurement tests.
Services for companies
- Tensile tests on polymeric (ISO 527, ASTM D638, ASTM D695, ASTM D882, ASTM D1043, ASTM D1708, ASTM D2990), elastomers (ASTM D412), composite (ASTM D3039, ASTM D3518, ISO 14126, ISO 14129) and metallic (ISO 6892-1, ASTM E8) materials using the corresponding standards
- Impact tests on polymeric (ASTM D256), composite (ASTM D5379) and metallic (ISO 148-1, ASTM E23) materials using the corresponding standards
- Hardness measurement tests on polymeric (ASTM D785) and metallic (ASTM E18, ASTM E92) materials using the corresponding standards
- Fracture toughness tests on polymeric (ISO 13586, ASTM D5045) and metallic (ISO 12135, ASTM E399, ASTM) materials and using ASTM E1820 standards for other general materials
- Fatigue tests on polymeric (ISO 13003, ASTM D7791), composite (ASTM D3479) and metallic (ISO 12106, ASTM E606, ASTM E647) materials using the corresponding standards
Although we follow the corresponding standard for each test, please note that the FFM lab is not certified.
We recommend doing the test as early as possible in the project leaving time to make necessary product changes. The FFM lab provides consultancy regarding different design possibilities.
Technical specification of equipment
- MTS Fatigue testing machine up to 100kN (fatigue) and 120kN (static)
- Universal testing machine with 500N, 1000N, 5kN, 10kN, and 30kN load cells
- Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA Q800) with force range of 0.0001 – 18N
- Universal Hardness Testing
- Charpy Impact Testing
- Digital Image Correlation system
We also have strong experiences in computational modelling and analyses of different mechanical problems related to the experimental tests to perform parametric analyses and offer alternative solutions for various industrial problems.