Compression and Tension

FAI performs compression and tensile testing to provide physical data about your material that is critical to product design, finite element analysis, and manufacturing practices.

Compression

Scope: A compression test determines the behavior of materials subjected to compressive loads. Loading is usually done at a uniform rate (lbs/sq in). The rate of loading is determined by the type and size of test specimen and is specified in the corresponding ASTM standard. Compression tests can tell you a great deal about a material including strength, modulus, elasticity, proportional limits, and stress.

Equipment: FAI owns and operates an Instron 1011 Universal Load Frame for Compression and Tensile testing. We also have the capabilities to perform physical testing in humidity and temperature-controlled environments.

Input: Most compression tests specimiens are either right, flat-topped cylinders or rectangular blocks. But compression tests can also be performed on full-size or scaled models of products or components.

Output: FAI tests materials and components and provides graphs of physical properties determined from the compressive testing such as ultimate compressive strength, modulus, and more.

Tension

Scope: Tensile tests determine behavior of materials under tensile loading.The test specimens are held by unique grips and pulled at a uniform rate. The rate of loading is determined by the type and size of test specimen and is specified in the corresponding ASTM standard. Just like compression tests, tensile tests can determine many properties of materials such as tensile strength, yield, modulus of elasticity, ductility, and more.

Input: Tensile testing specimens are usually dog-bone or dumbbell shaped. The samples must have the same ratio of length to cross-sectional area for repeatibility.

Output: FAI analyzes data gathered from tensile tests to provide graphs of physical properties such as ultimate tensile strength, modulus, ductility, and more.