HIGH STRAIN RATE SYSTEMS

Brochure

High strain rate tests analyse how materials react to rapid and intense stress conditions. From automotive crash tests to aerospace impacts, these tests are designed to replicate extreme impacts and study the strength of materials in critical applications.
STEP Lab systems can perform tests at speeds up to 30 m/s and loads up to 150 kN, ensuring reliable results for the design of safe and robust components.

Features

Max. Load: 150 kN
Max. Speed: 30 m/s

Type of test

High speed
Compression
Tensile
Impact

Applications

Plastics
Metal
Composites

HIGH STRAIN RATE SYSTEMS

Brochure

High strain rate tests analyse how materials react to rapid and intense stress conditions. From automotive crash tests to aerospace impacts, these tests are designed to replicate extreme impacts and study the strength of materials in critical applications.
STEP Lab systems can perform tests at speeds up to 30 m/s and loads up to 150 kN, ensuring reliable results for the design of safe and robust components.

Features

Max. Load: 150 kN
Max. Speed: 30 m/s

Type of test

High speed
Compression
Tensile
Impact

Applications

Plastics
Metal
Composites

High strain rate

STEP Lab high strain rate test systems are ideal for fatigue testing of plastics and other materials due to their high speed and wide force range. Our machines are designed to perform tensile and compression tests in a flexible manner, with the possibility of adding a climatic chamber to test materials at different temperatures.

With excellent performance, our high-speed tensile systems simulate extreme conditions on metals and plastics, ensuring compliance with international standards such as ASTM D638-5 and ISO 8256-2.

Applications

Applications and research areas of high-speed strain testing include:

Characterisation of metals, composites and polymers from quasi-static conditions up to strain rates of 1000/s.
Cumulative damage of aerospace components under high strain rate impacts.
Impact in the event of a car accident.
Tensile impact on parachute cables and seat belts.
Weight reduction of components.

Features

Designed for HCF testing [High Cycles Fatigue]
Integration with third-party high-speed DIC cameras
Highly reliable tests
Multi-actuator or single mode
Dynamic loads up to 200kN
Wide variety of accessories available
Zero maintenance
Easy installation (Plug&Play)
Low energy consumption

Standards

STEP Lab machines for high strain-rate testing comply with the following test standards:

FEATURES

No maintenance

High reliability

High efficiency

Wide range of use

Simple installation

ACTUATORS FOR HIGH STRAIN RATE TESTS

In addition to impact and rotational testing systems, high-speed deformation testing machines are based on a range of highly dynamic electric actuators.
These systems, based on linear motors, have been divided into two families: HUD, suitable for endurance tests due to its high continuous dynamic forces, and XUD, dedicated to short duration tests with the achievement of higher accelerations.

High performance thanks to linear motors

Outstanding dynamic performance
Excellent price/performance ratio
Flexible geometric configuration
Closed-loop force and displacement control via Test Center controller
High-resolution 24-bit data acquisition
Installable on any type of structure
Up to 8 controlled and synchronised axes
Easy and flexible test management via Test Centre GUI

Find out more

ACTUATORS

UD SERIES

Fatigue tests up to 2 m/s and 10G

HUD SERIES

Dynamic tests up to 6 m/s and 45G

XUD SERIES

Dynamic tests up to 6 m/s and 90G

CONFIGURATION FOR IMPACT TESTING

The picture on the left shows the set-up for a high-speed impact test, in which our DW2000 drop tower from STEP Lab and Photron’s high-speed camera were used.