Researchers and technicians in the Composites Lab perform lay-up and bonding operations and work directly with researchers in the Structures & Fatigue Laboratory to understand the effects of heat, moisture, contamination and repairs on advanced materials. The lab also provides regularly scheduled hands-on training workshops.
Capabilities
Lay-up
Material equivalency testing
Material qualification testing
Static and cyclic testing (ASTM and non-standard)
Physical testing
Quality assurance testing
Investigation of adhesive behavior
Bonded repairs
Controlled impact damage
Damage tolerance of sandwich panels
Aging studies
Specimen conditioning
Environmental testing (-200F to +600F)
Adhesive characterization of fatigued and damaged bonded joints
Full-scale structural testing
Effects of defects and NDI standards
Specimen machining (ASTM and non-standard)
Test fixture fabrication
NDI of test coupons
Strain gauging and specimen QC
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy/ High Performance Liquid Chromatography
Facilities & Equipment
7,420 sq. ft. laboratory
Autoclave (3’ x 5’, 800 degrees F, 400 psi)
Autoclave (3’ x 6’, 800 degrees F, 200 psi)
Autoclave (6’ x 12’, 800 degrees F, 200 psi)
Multiple environmental chambers and conditioning environments
Dynamic mechanical analysis units
Differential scanning calorimetry
Thermogravimetric analyzer
Optical microscope with video analysis
Stereoscope x350 with hand-held inspection unit
Filament winding machine (4-axis)
3 Programmable walk-in ovens (500° F)
Ultrasonic NDI units to perform pulse and echo and TTU scans with curved panel capability
RTM resin pumps
Walk-in freezers (-20° F)
Lay-up rooms
Machine shop specialized for composite material processing
