When you're testing materials used in an F-22 Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) aircraft or the X33 Recoverable Launch Vehicle, you know those materials are going to have to stand up to some very challenging conditions. That's why, for over 30 years, Westmoreland Mechanical Testing and Research, Inc (WMT & R) has worked with testing systems from Instron Corp.
Founded in 1967, the building blocks for WMT & R were stress rupture and creep testing for aerospace and defense industries. Today, its services include advanced research and materials testing for many different industries, including power generation, aerospace, nuclear, automotive, and defense. The company has put a wide range of materials to the test over the years, including aluminum and titanium (used in aerospace and defense), nickel, iron, cobalt, steel alloys, metal matrix composites, intermetallics, plastics, powdered metals, super alloys, and various steels. And all of their tests have had one common criterion: customers want results yesterday. (Shown here, the Fracture Fatigue Lab.)
WMT & R depends on Instron equipment to produce fast, reliable results. Worldwide, Instron's testing equipment is used to test the mechanical properties and performance of various materials, components, and structures in a wide array of environments, evaluating everything from fragile filaments to advanced alloys.
WMT & R turned to Instron for a new servohydraulic tester in about their seventh year of operation. According to WMT & R's Quality Assurance Inspection supervisor, Charles Boyle, this was the beginning of a mutually rewarding alliance.
"We found Instron's servohydraulic testing equipment to be reliable, accurate, and robust," he said. "And since then, our testing technicians have been continuously impressed with the dependability and user-friendly nature of Instron's testing systems. Downtime is never a big issue. The Instron systems are easy to work on and work with. For example, Instron machines are easy to change from low to high cycle fatigue with simple changes of extensometers, grips, and fixtures."
The Instron 8500/8800 series of servohydraulic test systems form the heart of WMT & R's fracture and fatigue testing area. Designed to simulate in-service conditions in a lab environment, the 8500/8800 machines can apply loads to a specimen in the range of one to over a million pounds. They also give WMT & R the ability to cycle specimens from low rates up to frequencies as high as 200 Hz. Tests are conducted in various atmospheres including argon, vacuum, open air, and temperature conditions that range from -425°F to +2200°F. The system's agility, high speed, and digital electronics not only deliver the control and accuracy that WMT & R requires, but also help to produce the efficiency that WMT & R's customers have come to expect.
Boyle offers an example of the speed and high testing capacity that the Instron servohydraulic testing systems allow. "We needed to test and machine 1,000 pieces in seven days," he says. "To accomplish this seemingly insurmountable feat and meet this tight deadline, we put 34 to 41 Instron systems to work around the clock. The job was actually completed ahead of schedule, with never a need for corrective maintenance or downtime. Instron's workhorses got the job done."
For servohydraulic testing, WMT & R uses exclusively Instron 8500/8800s. To round out testing capabilities, the lab also has an array of Instron testers for tension/compression testing, and Wilson Rockwell testers for hardness testing.
The most recent addition to the company's fleet of Instron systems is the 8150 Drop Weight Impact Test System. This giant, high energy impact test machine provides WMT & R with the ability to measure impact energies up to 20,000 ft-lb, and impact velocities up to 22 fps. Comprised of a drop weight machine, an instrumented tup and a data system, the 8150 is used by WMT & R for dynamic tear testing, determining energy absorption, identifying fracture resistance, and other applications. Because the 8150 provides high capacity testing, the design of the system is quite tall. In fact, WMT & R had to cut a hole in the roof of its Impact laboratory to accommodate an aerial installation of the system.
"When customers come to WMT & R, they know they can count on three principal competitive advantages," concludes Boyle. "They receive the benefit of our high testing capacity, with a lab dedicated to fast turnaround. They work with experienced, knowledgeable professionals. And they obtain the kind of results that can only be derived from utilization of the top technology. For decades we've counted on the Instron systems to deliver those results. Instron has been much more than a vendor to us. Working with Instron is like working with old friends."
