Research> Facilities
Research Facilities within the Group
The main facilities of the Materials Engineering Group are described below,
where available links to more information is also shown.
Some of these facilities are available on a consultancy basis for users outside the University. For more information please contact the Laboratory Manager, Ian Norman, tel; 01908 653056 or e-mail i.norman@open.ac.uk .
Electron Microscopes |
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The electron microscope facility has a full range of sample preparation facilities with SEM and TEM instruments with attached analytical facilities. < More information > |
Optical Microscopes |
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The optical microscope facility has various microscopes with a range of materials preparation equipment for preparing specimens for observation. |
Analytical facility |
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The analytical facility has equipment mainly used for polymer identification, FTIR, DSC, and access to other facilities such as AA, NMR and GPC. |
Mechanical Testing |
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The mechanical test facility has various servo-hydraulic machines rated up to 100kN. Various ovens and furnaces are used to give temperatures from -30°C to 1400°C.
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Residual Stress Measurement |
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Equipment for residual stress measurement encompasses a range of measurement techniques, including X-ray diffraction, incremental hole drilling, the contour method, neutron diffraction and synchrotron X-ray diffraction. |
Instrumented Indentation Testing |
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MTS XP Nanoindentor with Continuous Stiffness Measurement (CSM) Module and Nano Vision for characterising mechanical properties in the nanometer range. Plus a AFM microscope for imaging specimens. |
Creep Facility |
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The Department has a purpose-built creep testing laboratory. It houses some 30 straining frames used in various studies on time dependent deformation and fracture of engineering materials. |