Polymer materials as well as composites based on polymers reinforced with long or continuous fibers are gaining increasing usage in markets where they can compete with other materials (metals …) thanks to their advantageous balance of properties.
Since the characterization of such high-performance materials requires dedicated instruments, Certech recently acquired a new tensile testing equipment with a 100 kN load cell allowing to perform tensile, bending and compression measurements. Thanks to a climatic chamber, the analyses can be carried out between -90°C and +350°C as described in the common standards pertaining to the mechanical characterization of polymers and composites. This instrument is also equipped with an optical extensometer which allows the measurement of deformation without any contact with the sample. The coupling with a digital image correlation (DIC) software makes the analysis of the fields of deformations during the test possible.
Tensile testing equipment with a 100 kN load cell
