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Equipment

Digital Image Correlation

The 3500 sq. ft. laboratory spanning several rooms hosts state-of-the-art equipment necessary for dynamic testing of structures, material processing, material characterization, composite fabrication,system identification, control system implementation and many hands on demonstration testbeds for educational purposes at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Examples of the equipment available in the lab include:

  •  Instron 9450 Drop Tower System - A drop weight impact testing machine used to determine the energy required to break or damage a material in which a defined weight falls onto a specimen or a component from a specific height and with a specific impact energy and velocity.  The energy range is 0.59 to 1500 J, impact velocity from 0.77 to 24 m/s, drop height from 0.03 to 29.4 m, mass range from 2 to 70 kg, and force transducers from 2 kN to 220 kN.  
  • Instron 50 kN Testing Frame which can perform tensile, compression, peel, tear, puncture, creep, and cycle tests of materials and structures.   An environmental chamber allows testing of materials at low and high temperatures.  Fixtures are available for performing 50 kN tensile tests, 50 kN compression tests, 5 kN  3 and 4 point bending tests, and 50 kN compact tension tests.  Fixtures include 10 kN screw action grips, 50 kN wedge action grips, 6” diameter compression plates, 5 kN 4 point bend fixture, 100 kN 3 point bend fixtures, compact tension grips, and several different sized load cells.  
  •  Hitachi DMA7100 (100-115V) - DMA that operates from -150 to 600 F and 0.01 to 200 Hertz.  RV-1DMA Real View ™ Sample Observation Unit for DMA7100 -allows monitoring of sample by digital camera and includes an Auto LN2 Gas Cooling Controller for DMA7100.
  •  NeoScope JCM-5000 Benchtop SEM with 10 - 40,000x magnification with high and low vacuum modes and accelerating voltages of 15kV, 10kV, and 5kV with maximum specimen dimensions of 70mm in diameter and 50mm in height.
  •  Polytec Laser Vibrometer - The single point vibrometer measures vibrations (displacement and velocity) of an object in the direction of the laser beam. The modular vibrometer controller using signal processing modules/decoders allows for the measurement of frequency, velocity or displacement for specific or multiple applications. Velocities up to 100 MHz and displacements as small 2 nm can be measured.
  •  CEAST 9050 - Manual Model Pendulum-type machine for impact tests, electronically controlled (ISO 13802), for Charpy, IZOD and tensile impact methods for energy ranges from 0.5-25 J. Charpy Vice for ASTM D6110 and Equivalents.
  •  Multiple dSPACE real-time control systems for easy and rapid prototyping of control systems using Simulink and Matlab.
  •  MTS Axial-Torsional Testing Frame - A large, multi-axial, servo-hydraulic testing machine from the MTS Systems Corporation located in 107 Hancock Hall.
  •  ADMET MTEST Quattro Materials Testing System - features sampling rates up to 1kHz, a maximum load rate of 40 in/min, and a maximum load of 1000 lbf. Grips for tensile loading and 3- and 4-point bending
  •  National Instruments multifunctional data acquisition system ideal for measuring high frequency responses, such as structural wave propagation, and performing a dynamic spectrum analysis on structures.
    • NI PXI-6120 16-Bit, 1 MS/s/ch, Simultaneous Sampling Multifunction DAQ 4 simultaneously sampled analog inputs, 1 MS/s per channel with warp mode enabled Two 16-bit analog outputs, 4 MS/s single channel, 2.5 MS/s dual channel
    • NI PXI-6133 14-Bit, 2.5 MS/s/ch, Simultaneous Sampling Multifunction DAQ 8 simultaneously sampled analog inputs, up to 2.5 MS/s or 3 MS/s in warp mode
    • NI PXI-4461 24-Bit, 204.8 kS/s, 2-Input/2-Output Two simultaneously updated analog outputs at up to 204.8 kS/s Variable antialiasing and anti-imaging filters
    • NI PXI-4462 24-Bit, 204.8 kS/s, 4-Input Four simultaneously sampled analog inputs at up to 204.8 kS/s Variable antialiasing filters
    • NI PXI-4071 PXI Digital Multimeter (DMM) 7½-Digit PXI Digital Multimeter (DMM) and 1000 V Digitizer ndustry's most accurate 7½-digit digital multimeter Voltage measurements from ±10 nV to 1000 VDC (700 VAC) 8 DC current ranges with sensitivity down to 1 pA Resistance measurements from 10 µΩ to 5 GΩ
  • National Instruments system tailored for performing impedance measurements in material systems.
    • PXIe-1082, 8-Slot 3U PXI Express Chassis
    • NI PXIe-8108 Core 2 Duo 2.53 GHz Controller with Win 7
    • NI PXI-5402 14-bit, 100 MS/s Function Generator, 20 MHz Sine/Square
    • NI PXI-4110 Triple Output DC Power Supply with APS-4100 Aux Power
    • NI PXIe-5122, 2-ch, 100 MS/s Digitizer w/256 MB/ch Onboard Memory
  • Luna Hyperscan - High resolution and sensitivity multiple fiber optic strain provides diagnostic capability of structures and materials.
  • LaVision 3D DIC System – Capability for viewing large samples with two 2590x2048 pixel resolution cameras at a nominal 75 frames per second rate. The system has a <0.01 pixel strain resolution for measuring strains submicron strains.  The sysstem has high intensity pulsed LED illumination for high speed imaging.  DaVis software compatible with 64-bit Windows operating system has high precision multi pass strain calculation, adaptive masking, is capable of crack growth analysis, has point tracker capability, and has 3D volumetric reconstruction capabilities.
  • Newport Linear Stages - IMS-LM High-Performance Long-Travel Linear Motor Stages allows the assemblies travel up to 600 mm x 600 mm. It also provides accurate positioning with sub-µm repeatability. The stages combined with the Laser Vibrometer and Fiber Optic displacement sensors allow for the scanning of structures and material systems.
  • Agilent 35670A Dynamic Signal Analyzer and Tektronix TDS2014B Digital Oscilloscope (1 GS/s)
  • Agilent 33522A Arbitrary Waveform Generator - A 30 Mhz waveform generator that can produce sine, square, pulse, and even user-defined signals.
  • Testo 885 Series Thermal Camera A high sensitive 30 mK camera with a 320x240 resolution. Large 4.3” TouchScreen, <30 mK NETD sensitivity, 11o Telephoto Lens, Radiometric Video Recording.
  • EQ-DZF-6050-HT 500ºC Vacuum Oven (16x13x14”, 53L) with Segmented Controller, Gas Pruge, and Water Cooling System
  • Qsonica Sonicator 4000 – A probe type digital ultrasonicator converting a electrical signal into mechanical vibrations for the processing of liquids. The sonicator has a 600 Watt power rating and operating frequency of 20kHz. A amplitude intensity between 0-100 can be set using the digital interface, and 10 vibration sequences can be written. Probes can be interchanged between the ½” plain probe tip and ½” sapphire coated probe tip, with or without the use of a temperature probe with a hermetically sealed thermocouple, and between a flow through tip for processing small volumes.
  • Agilent Resistivity Cell – High resistance meter for measuring various DUTs (device under test) from 50 mm to 125 mm in diameter and 10 µm to 10 mm in thickness, with a 1000 V applicable test voltage and 10mA applicable test current. The cell has a volume resistivity range up to 4.0x1018 Ωcm and a surface resistivity up to 4.0x1017 Ω.
  • Agilent E4980A Precision LCR Meter – Device measures impedance for any size DUTs using either Agilent made test fixtures or lab made test fixtures. Has a frequency range of 20 Hz to 2MHz, and with lab made test fixture has an impedance range of 10mΩ to 10 KΩ (capacitance of 1x10^(-18)F to 100x10^(18)F).
  • Hirox high magnification (350-7000x) optical microscope with digital image capture with reflection and transmission modes and polarizing adapter.
  • Mettler Toledo* Excellence XS Analytical Balance – High precision balance for measuring up to 81g with an accuracy of 0.1mg to 0.01mg.
  • Sliverson L5M-A Laboratory Mixer – High viscosity high shear mixer with up to 10,000 rpm with interchangeable mixing heads for capacities from 1ml up to 12 liters. Stators include a general purpose disintegrating stator, a square hole high shear screen, an emulsor screen, and an axial flow head
  • Denton Vacuum Desk V HP Cold Sputter Coater – Sputter coater for SEM sample preparation of non-conductive samples with tilting and rotating plate with 2.375" diameter 0.002" thick Gold target
  • Demetron Optilux 501 Halogen Curing Light - A visible light curing unit designed to polymerize adhesives and composite materials with a variety of features including a built-in radiometer LCD 4- digit radiometer display. The unit is equipped with the extended life 80-Watt Optibulb and includes both the 8 mm turbo and 11 mm standard light guides. Output wavelength range: 400-505 nm. Output light Intensity: 850 - 1000 mW/cm2
  • Trek Model 10/10B-HS-L-CE High Voltage Amplifier - Voltage amplifier with 0 to +/- 10 kV DC or peak AC voltage and 0 to +/-10 mA DC or +/- 40mA AC for an input voltage of 0 to +/- 10 V DC or peak AC and input impedance of 20 kΩ. DC voltage gain of 1000 V/V with signal bandwidth of greater than 60 kHz
  • The lab has numerous sensors, instrumentation, and hardware, for running test equipment, such as multiple shakers ranging in size, strain gauges, accelerometers, proximity probes, fiber optic displacement sensors, laser displacement sensors, pressure sensors, ultrasonic flow sensors, and access to numerous other facilities on campus.