Located in the Engineering Building, in room 112, in the Mitchell Campus, the Materials Testing and Analysis Laboratory is designed to apply and complement the theoretical knowledge the students acquire in the Solid Mechanics/Design area of the curriculum. Among the courses drawn on are: ENDG 105 - Engineering Graphics, MarE 205 - Statics, MarE 206 - Dynamics, MASE 209 - Mechanics of Materials.
As part of the MASE 309 course, the lab portion consists of 6 experiments conducted by teams of students (ideally 3 students/team) every two weeks, usually. The course is divided in two parts, a core set of 3 experiments (Tensile Test, Beam Deformation, and Torsion), with the rest of the experiments being chosen by the students from the remaining list. It is also encouraged for the students to replace one of the latter labs by an experiment designed by themselves and related to testing some system of their respective senior design project.
1. Beam Theory - Bending of a Beam
2. Tensile Test
3. Torsion Test
Elective Experiments:
4. Elastic Buckling of Columns
6. Photoelastic Stress Analysis
7. Unsymmetrical Bending of a Rectangular Hollow Beam
8. Closed Ring Subjected to a Concentrated Load
9. Shear Center and Angle of Twist of Thin Walled Sections
10. Analysis of a Three Bar Statically Indeterminate Truss
11. Unsymmetrical Bending of a Z-Section Cantilever Beam
1. Beam Theory - Bending of a Beam
In this experiments the students are introduced to established instrumentation tools used in solid mechanics analysis. Strain data is gathered through use of strain gages arranged in different bridge configurations and calibrated using student developed VI's and strain indicators. Errors are compared to the beam bending closed form solutions .
2. Tensile Test
Classical experiment in which students are required to identify critical points along the stress-strain curve generated through destructive testing of an either cylindrical or flat specimen. Introduction to extensometer, load cell, deflectometer, etc. Data is aquired through a manufacturer supplied software. Different samples are tested by each member of the group.
3. Torsion Test
Destructive test of metal bars in torsion. Critical points are identified on the generated curve and the fracture surface is analyzed. For comparison, different specimens with various cross-sections are tested in the elastic range.
4. Elastic Buckling of Columns
The objective of this experiment is to observe the manner in which straight, slender structural elements respond to axial compressive loading in a testing machine.
5. Fatigue of Metals
To familiarize the student with fatigue failure of metals and S-N curves by using rotating beam test.
6. Photoelastic Stress Analysis
Introduce the student to non-destructive testing through the photoelasticity method; use of finite element method as a computational tool to check experimental results.
7. Unsymmetrical Bending of a Rectangular Hollow Beam
The objectives of this experiment are to (a) measure strain by the use of bonded filament resistance strain gages and associated equipment and (b) check the validity of the assumptions and results of simple beam theory.
8. Closed Ring Subjected to a Concentrated Load
The objective of this experiment is to measure the maximum stress in a thick ring subject to diametral concentrated loading and to compare the measured value with that predicted by the curved beam theory.
9. Shear Center and Angle of Twist of Thin Walled Sections
Students determine the location of the shear center, the point through which the resultant shear force acts, and the angle of twist for various thin walled metal cross-section cantilever beams.
10. Analysis of a Three Bar Statically Indeterminate Truss
Students determine the forces, strains and stresses in each bar and the displacements of the common joint through the use of bonded filament resistance gages..
11. Unsymmetrical Bending of a Z-Section Cantilever Beam
The objectives of this experiment are to (a) to measure strain by the use of bonded filament resistance strain gages and associated equipment, (b) determine the neutral axis of a beam loaded out of its principal plane; and (c) check the validity of the assumptions and results of simple beam theory.
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