Center for Fatigue Investigations of Materials and Mechanical Structures Zaawansowane systemy wytwarzania i materiały

Center for Fatigue Investigations of Materials and Mechanical Structures works on the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the UTP University of Science and Technology.

Extensive powers of the Center results from the above forty years’ experience in the range of:

• experimental fatigue testing of materials and structures,
• development of fatigue design procedures,
• design and implementation of the innovative mechatronic testing systems supporting advanced investigations of the phenomena connected with fatigue problems.

The Center staff has at its disposal research laboratories certified by Polish Center for Accreditation (PCA AB 372). The laboratories are well equipped with the conventional and unique research systems enabling fatigue testing of different objects under different environmental conditions.

In the Center tests of wide spectrum of fatigue properties of materials and mechanical structures are realised, including:

• fatigue life curves for different approaches: stress-life approach, strain-life approach, energy-life approach,
• fatigue life curves for different loading conditions: constant and variable amplitude loading (service loading, programmed loading, irregular loading, random loading),
• cyclic stress-strain curves for global and local approach,
• fatigue crack growth rate.

The tests are carried out in the ambient temperature, in the elevated temperature (up to 1000 °C) and in the cryogenic conditions (up to – 200°C).

Different objects are tested in the laboratories, including:

• standard test specimens for material properties testing (with the use of axial and axial-torsion testing systems),
• structural elements and their parts (with the use of the typical and dedicated fatigue testing systems),
• large-size structures (with the use of multiaxial Instron Structural Testing System ISTS – individual arrangement of loading conditions for particular actuators),
• microspecimen and microobjects (with the use of Fatigue and Static Testing System of Microobjects – MFS).

The experimental investigations are supplemented by finite element analysis with the use of advanced geometrical and material models for different loading conditions, including dynamic and impact loading.

For this purpose different software is used ABAQUS, ANSYS and LS DYNA.

For local strain analysis (e.g. in the geometrical and structural notch zones, the fatigue crack area, the material transition zone) unique, advanced optoelectronical systems are used, based on laser moiré interferometry technique (laser grating interferometry), digital image correlation method and thermography technique.