Cyclic Testing of Materials |
| |
 Adrianne Wheeler, performing a cyclic test on a piece of rebar The NSEL has equipment available to perform cyclic testing of materials. The testing machines available for cyclic testing range in strength from 700 N to 2.7 MN. More information on the available testing machines is located on the Testing Machines page . Fatigue testing (a method for determining the range of fluctuating stresses a material can withstand without failing) is also performed in the lab. Several cyclic experiments are currently in the testing phase. Dr. Gregory Banas has projects involving the cyclic testing of railroad ties and rebar. In brief, the rebar is subject to 5 million cycles under the stress range of 200 MPa at a stress ratio of 2. A picture of a test in progress is shown on the right. (For more information on this project, click here .) Rebar testing is one type of several cyclic experiments that has been conducted since the 1960s. The lab is setup to handle the testing of a diverse group of materials that is not limited to steel. |
| |
