Electro-Mechanical Test Instrumentation

Repaired aircraft panel with instrumentation.

The Structures and Materials Evaluation group evaluates the durability of materials and manufactured components. We maintain and employ calibrated instrumentation to collect temperature, pressure, load, deflection, strain, and stress data from components and systems under both lab and field conditions.

We have several multi-channel data acquisition systems that are capable of recording data at sample rates up to 5MS/s. Programmable controllers and function generators are used to accurately control tests or test machines. Instrumentation is routinely calibrated and we maintain our records so that accuracy is traceable to NIST standards.  

The instrumentation in our laboratory includes:

• axial and torsional loadcells
• force washers
• strain gages
• linear variable differential transformers (LVDTs)
• pressure transducers
• mechanical and optical extensometers
• traveling microscopes
• thermocouples
• oscilloscopes
• precision voltmeters
• micrometers
• calipers
• monitoring for up to 10 high speed strain gages
• high speed digital acquisition up to 32 channels
• Labview(R) instrumentation and programming expertise

Photo-elastic stress materials and analysis equipment, an infared imaging camera, high-speed cameras and other special NDI equipment are available when needed.

Most of this work is carried out in the Structural Test Laboratory, and is supported by other facilities in the Research Institute such as the Metallography Lab, the Surface Analysis Lab, the Composites Lab, and the Electronics Lab.