In order to address a client’s specific need in material testing, ADV Integrity and ADV Fabworks have joined forces to develop a customized biaxial load frame capable of testing cruciform specimens. The resulting product will offer in-house testing that is easily transportable and universally adaptable.
This project, which is currently in the early stages of the calibration processes, began when ADV Integrity set out to meet the needs of its client to develop a cost-effective biaxial load frame. From inception of the idea to the final product, ADV Integrity ensured the load frame would deliver the desired specifications.
Ahmed Hassanin, Engineering Associate at ADV Integrity and Technical Manager of this project, said that the goals of the client were ADV Integrity’s top priority. “If you have an idea and we do not have a method of testing it, we can design it to meet your needs. In this case, we took it from a napkin sketch, modeled it in a CAD software, ran all necessary analyses from hand calculations to Finite Element Analysis, and then fabricated it,” he said. Next, Hassanin and his team will work through calibration, and running test cases on the load frame.
The resulting material testing implications of the biaxial load frame are promising. Its compact size means that tension and compression as well as fatigue testing can be run in-house. The primary test specimens that will be tested in this load frame are cruciform samples to test sensors; however, the versatility would be especially beneficial for testing on wrinkle bend coupons, a service frequently performed by ADV Integrity.
“In my experience loads are not necessarily uniaxial, so this testing ability gives us more detailed insights on the response of the material to combined loading in different axes,” Hassanin said.
While built for biaxial testing, the load frame can also run more standard uniaxial testing as well, widening the scope of usage possibilities even further. The flexibility of the final product will potentially increase both the client's and ADV Integrity's capabilities in material integrity testing. Hassanin elaborated on the adaptability of the new load frame: "You can run the four hydraulic cylinders seperately, so you can run two in one direction alone verses the other tow, or you can run them at the same time. So, even though it is a biaxial load frame, we can still do uniaxial testing, which provides us with additional flexibility."
Originally published April 12, 2021