Solid Mechanics Laboratory

The Solid Mechanics Laboratory in Fitzpatrick Hall includes two split Hopkinson bars for dynamic loading of materials in torsion and compression, high speed photographic equipment to be used to perform optical strain/displacement measurements, an explosive testing facility for the study of solid combustion and explosive loading of materials, an air gun for impact studies and dynamic loading, and equipment for fatigue crack propagation studies of metallic materials.

The Metrology Laboratory, a part of the Tribology/Manufacturing and Solid Mechanics Laboratory, has the capability of performing hardness testing, surface profilometry, microscopy and dimensional measurements using a variety of precision instruments, including micrometers, an optical comparator, and numerous gages.

The Solid Mechanics Laboratory also houses equipment necessary to study a variety of structural mechanics, solid mechanics, and materials science problems. The equipment is designed for work involving transmission photoelasticity, geometric moire, specimen preparation, and computation. In addition, a darkroom and electronics assembly facilities are available in adjacent laboratories. The available equipment includes 9 inch and 16 inch diameter transmission polariscopes for static photoelasticity, equipment for geometric moire studies, complete model making facilities, a 0.5 inch by 7 inch view camera, and complete video, frame grabbing, and image analysis software for analyzing fringe patterns.

Direct comments, questions, and corrections to amedept@nd.edu