Centre for Advanced Composite Materials
Physical testing equipment
A wide selection of high-quality test equipment and state-of-the-art instrumentation allows us to conduct novel research and support industrial testing requirements.
Drop tower
Imatek fully instrumented drop weight impact tester IM10-20
| Drop height | 50–2000 mm |
| Drop mass | 8–30 kg, 1.0kg increments |
| Velocity range | 1.0–20 m/s (using high velocity option) |
| Energy range | 2.5–2000 J (using high velocity option) |
| Peak force | 60 kN |
| Data acquisition (force) | Up to 3,000,000 samples/second |
Mechanical testing
Electro-mechanical universal testing machines
| Instron 1186 | Max 200 kN |
| Instron 1185 | Max 100 kN |
| Instron 5567 | Max 30 kN |
Servo-hydraulic universal testing machine
| Instron 8802 | Max 300 kN Load cells 5N – 250 kN |
Environmental chamber
For use within Instron 1185/1186
| Temperature range | 100 – 350ºC |
Permeability and compaction characterisation for fibrous reinforcements
Permeability characterisation
Characterisation of the permeability of a material, for use in liquid resin infusion simulations. Two distinct techniques used at CACM:
- 2D in-plane permeability characterisation for fibre reinforcements, based on image analysis.
- Through-thickness permeability characterisation, including air and liquid permeability.
Compaction characterisation
Characterisation of the resistance to compaction of fibrous reinforcements, required for force and stress prediction of composites manufacturing processes. A range of setups used dependent on model to be characterised.
Weighing balances
| Mettler Toledo AG204 | 200 gram x 0.0001 gram |
| Mettler Toledo PG8001 | 8.0 kg x 0.1 gram |
| Mettler Toledo SB16001 | 3.2 kg x 0.1 gram 16 kg x 1 gram |
| Sartorius SARLP12000S | 12 kg x 0.1 gram |
Density measurements
Moisture content balance
Sartorius MA35 (ASTM D789)
Rheometer
Parr-Physica UDS200
The Paar Physica UDS 200 is a rotational rheometer that can be used to measure shear viscosity, viscoelastic functions, creep, and yield stress of materials using different geometries such as cone-and-plate, parallel-plate, and concentric cylinder.
| Shear rate control range | 0.0001–5000 s-1 |
| Stress control range | 0.002–150 mN.m |
| Temperature control range | -40–300ºC |
