Mechanical Testing

Compression testing can be conducted for a variety of materials (polymers, ceramics, concrete, rubber, composites, etc.). This test determines the behaviour of the material under crushing loads.

Typical parameters – compressive strength

The tensile testing of a material, whether a rubber, rigid polymer or composite, measures the behaviour of the material under tension loads.

Typical parameters – tensile strength, yield strength, tensile modulus and elongation

Flexural testing provides information on the resistance to flexing or stiffness of a material. This test is usually conducted on polymers, ceramics and concrete.

Typical parameters – flexural strength, flexural modulus

Impact testing is a high strain-rate test that can be performed on various materials. There are mainly two types of impact test geometries – Charpy V-notch and Izod. Both measures the amount of energy absorbed by the material during impact, therefore the impact resistance.

A Shore durometer is an instrument that is used to measure the hardness of a material. The hardness of a material can be described as its resistance to indentation. High numbers indicate a great resistance to indentation (hard materials), and low numbers indicate less resistance to indentation (soft materials). The instrument consists of a spring-loaded needle which creates the indentation on the sample. This test is usually used to measure the hardness of polymers, rubbers, and elastomers.

Lap shear tests can be used to test the bonding strength of numerous adhesives.