The Testing Times

Used for testing reinforcing bars or reinforcement bar ( Rebar ) for the construction industry. The way that mass produced R ebar is made requires test for consistency throughout a products manufacture life cycle. The sample is placed on the lower support rollers, then bent to a certain angle (depending upon test). It is then treated (heated to a specific temprature) and then rebent, back to straight and an observations are taken.

This attachment is used to test the strength of the welds that hold mesh together. The mesh is often used as a reinforcement for concrete structures. as this is a structural component it is essential to test the consistency of the weld in any given section. A joint is cut from the mesh and placed in this attachment. A grip, the HW 14 is then placed on the end of the rod. a force of up to 50 kN is then applied and the shear strength of the weld measured. There is some adjustment in the design with a sliding plate that allows for different gauges of wire. The applicable standards are: BS4483, ASTM A185, ASTM A497 and ASTM A974. The testing application note for this grip is available from the resource area of our School of testing microsite or by clicking here .

I'm afraid that I've brought a bit of a bug to Tinius Olsen... Everyone seems to be developing blogs. (I think you can get a cream for it from a good pharmacist). If you want to learn about testing plastics, try this. http://www.testingplastics.com/ If you'd like to learn about testing metals, try this. http://www.testingmetal.com/ If you are a student looking for testing advice or examples try this. http://www.schooloftesting.com/ And of course testing textiles can be found here... http://www.testingtextiles.com/ Harry, Earl, David and Sylvia are all specialists in their specific areas and are happy to help... The question and answers section is very informative.

This a ttachment , the S0991 is designed to test how card and paper folds, a small sample section is taken and placed under a retaining bar, this is then forced to fold using the fold bar at the back. A rotary digital encoder measures the rotation angle and compares it to the force measured on the loadcell . To ensure self-alignment cord is used to rotate the pulleys that move the folding bar. Used in the packaging industry this compares how easy is is to open your box of cereal in the morning and to see how strong the folds are...

BS4370-2:1993 Method 9 tests the tensile strength of rigid Cellular Material. This encompasses things like ridged foams used for padding and floatation devices. Method nine calls for two different profiles of the sample material to be cut. To save on having two different rigs, this one device can accept both sizes of sample. it also has interchangeable and modular test face profiles.

It's sometimes necessary to attach a grip or fitting that has no way of self aligning , in these cases we've developed several ingenious ways to add this function to the machines. One of these methods is to use a Self- Aligning Fixture like the one shown in the picture. As it is designed to fit a 150 kN U-Series machine it is somewhat massive. The top thread being 1" UNF in diameter and the bottom an M33. It weighs, a not insignificant , 7kg; has a 110mm body diameter and is nearly a foot tall. The central pin that you can see has is supported by a Nitrile block which allows it to float, whilst absorbing the shock of a sample failure.

The Compression of a spring can be quite a hard thing to measure, the spring has a tendency to want to exert it's applied force horizontally to the platens (in other words, fly off under the nearest table...) This isn't really a problem, just a nuisance and in some applications a desirable feature of springs... To stop the test sample from flying off these compression platens have a free running guide that retracts into the top body. This holds onto the spring, whilst having a known affect on the test.