Characterisation
Our facility is equipped with a range of different characterisation equipment to support mechanical testing and optimise designs.
Characterisation tools
The Hysitron TI 900 TriboIndenter is used for high- throughput testing and collecting of nanoindentation, scratch, and wear data.
It features in situ Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) imaging.
The Olympus LEXT OLS5000 is a 3D Confocal Laser
Scanning Microscope (CLSM) used for fast, non- contact, non- destructive imaging and measuring without sample preparation.
It can be used for the visualisation of nanometre micro surface contours using Differential Interference Contrast (DIC), as well as profile and surface roughness measurements.
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Lateral resolution | 120 nm |
| Vertical resolution | 10 nm |
| Image slope | up to 87.5° |
| Stage travel | 100 mm (X- axis and Y- axis) |
The Struers Duramin- 40 AC2 is a versatile micro / macro hardness tester with load cell technology for the automatic testing of Vickers and Knoop methods. It can also be used for measuring material toughness (KC).
It features a high- resolution evaluation camera, automatic illumination, automatic focus, automatic image evaluation, motorised Z- axis, motorised XY- stage, motorised 6 + 1 position turret, and software for a fully automatic evaluation.
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Load range | 0.098 - 306.4 N (10 gf - 31.25 kgf) |
| Stage size | 350 x 225 mm² |
| Stage travel | 220 mm (X- axis) and 120 mm (Y- axis) |
| Test height | 0 - 148 mm |
| Camera FOV | 200 x 160 mm² |
The LaboPol- 30 is a robust grinder and polisher for fast, reliable specimen preparation, and is equipped with the LaboForce-100 semi- automatic specimen mover.
It is Ø300 mm in size with interchangeable grinding discs and polishing cloths. The specimen mover plate allows the preparation of up to six specimens and the flexible specimen holder can hold irregular shaped specimens.
The LPW POWDERFLOW Kit is a comprehensive powder flow measurement kit, allowing users to quickly and fully characterise powder flow to known ASTM standards.
It is used to determine Hall Flow (ASTM B213) and Carney Flow (ASTM B964), and to derive Carr Index and Hausner Ratio.
The Granutools GranuDrum is used to measure the dynamic flow properties of powder.
It operates by rotating a drum filled with a powder sample and taking snapshots at varying rotating speeds. Software then analyses the images to determine properties such as flowability, cohesion, thixotropy (agglomeration, segregation, and attrition), caking, and aeration.
The Plastometrex Profilometry- based Indentation Plastometry (PIP) tester is used for obtaining an isotropic material's stress- strain curve from an indent profile by using accelerated inverse Finite Element Analysis (FEA).
Compared with conventional tensile testing, PIP testing can be conducted with up to 99% less material and at up to 80 times faster, substantially reducing the cost and time to develop new alloys.
The PIP tester has a hot stage allowing testing at up to 800°C, a process that would be much more expensive and complicated to perform with conventional tensile testing.