Custom and standard tests for the study of the propagation of cracks
Fracture Mechanics Test Specimen
Accutek Testing Laboratory offers fracture mechanics testing services to provide the information necessary to improve the mechanical performance of materials and components for the aerospace and defense industries, as well as other industries. Our experienced staff and state of the art equipment supplies the data needed to predict the propagation of cracks in many different materials including metals, composites, plastics and ceramics.
Fracture Toughness
The Fracture Toughness of a material is one of the most important factors to consider in the design process. Fracture Toughness is a material property that measures a material’s ability to resist fracture in the presence of a flaw. A flaw is introduced with a machined notch in the test specimen, and the specimen is loaded in fatigue until a sharp fatigue crack is created. The test specimen is then statically loaded to determine the fracture toughness of the material. Accutek’s Fracture Mechanics Laboratory provides turnkey Fracture Toughness testing programs including test specimen design and manufacture, fatigue precracking, fracture toughness determination, and data analysis.
Fracture mechanics test
using compliance method
Fatigue Crack Growth
Identifying a material’s fatigue crack growth rate provides critical data for a designer to predict the useful life cycle of a component in the presence of a flaw or to determine a critical crack length for use in maintenance inspections. Common deliverables from this testing include KTH , or Threshold (the stress intensity below which a crack will not grow) and Paris Parameters (defining the region at which a crack undergoes stable growth). Accutek’s Fracture Mechanics Laboratory performs Fatigue Crack Growth Testing for clients in various industries on a regular basis. Our extensive in-house fatigue testing machines provide the capacity to handle fatigue crack growth projects, large and small.
Accutek performs fracture mechanics testing in various environments and at high and low temperatures, as required by our clients.
Accutek’s fracture mechanics test services include the following:
- K1c Testing
- J1c Testing
- G1c Interlaminar Fracture Toughness Testing
- Charpy V-notch Testing (NIST Certified)
- CTOD Testing (Crack Tip Opening Displacement)
- FCP Testing (Fatigue Crack Propagation)
- J/R Analysis
- K1scc Testing (Fracture Toughness - Stress Corrosion Cracking)
- Please contact us if your fracture mechanics testing needs are not listed above, as Accutek also offers custom test plans and equipment.
