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Fatigue Testing of Materials

MERL offers fatigue evaluation of materials, structures and components. Capabilities include:
  • Materials testing to define damage models for service life prediction.
  • Product, component or structural tests for validation, fitness for purpose, life assessment.

Advanced servo-hydraulics:

  • MTS single axis and multi axis
  • Linear (5 – 250 kN) and torsional
    (500Nm) actuators
  • Periodic or time history (RPC) loading
  • Spectral or road load data

Environmental conditioning

  • -50 to 220ºC
  • Controlled humidity, salt spray, immersion
  • Inert (N2) atmosphere

Fatigue characteristics for rubber

Fatigue life of engineering component

Examples of material fatigue tests include:

Rubbers (elastomers)
  • Pure shear tests (crack growth)
  • Simple extension (crack growth, threshold definition)
  • Uni-axial tension (S-N data for crack initiation)
  • High frequency dynamic effects
  • Equi-biaxial tests crack initiation, S-N data)
Composites
  • Interlaminar fracture testing utilising all specimen types e.g. DCB, 4ENF, MMB
  • High cycle fatigue testing using multi-station approach
  • Tensile/compression and flexural fatigue
Adhesive systems
  • Lap shear (double and single)
  • Reinforced Double Cantilever Beam (RDCB)
  • Mixed mode tests using Flexural Peel (FPS)
  • ‘Structural’ tests such as ‘top-hat’, H-structures (e.g. automotive steel monocoque), T-structures (e.g. automotive spaceframe)
Thermoplastics
  • Simple extension (S-N)
  • Compact tension (Crack growth)
service testing
 
 

© 2010 MERL Ltd. The registered company address of:
Materials Engineering Research Laboratory Limited is Wilbury Way,
Hitchin, Hertfordshire, UK, SG4 0TW.
Registered in England. Company registration number: 2015020.
Tel: +44(0)1462 427 850
Polymer Engineering, Testing, Inspection, Research and Development, UK