Specialist Scientific Facilities - Universal Test Bed

This facility is used for assessing the compression and fatigue characteristics of a wide range of large scale engineering components and structures.

Features
• A single steel floor measuring 18 x 3 metres designed to allow fixing of loading frames and hydraulic actuators in a wide variety of configurations.
• Portal frame, approximately 4 metres in height, allowing vertical loading of large components.
• Capable of accepting vertical forces up to 1000kN.
• Capable of withstanding cyclic loads from 0 to 1000kN or from -500kN to +500kN for fatigue test purposes.
• High pressure hydraulic ring main capable of flow rates up to 750 litres/minute supplying power to the actuators.
• System control and data acquisition achieved via dedicated PCs.

Applications
• Fatigue performance of mining cage suspension gear.
• Quasi-static compression tests on railway carriage underframe.
• Biaxial fatigue tests and the interaction of defects (e.g. on railway axle material).
• Effects of defects on performance of non-metallic slings.

This facility is available to public and private sector customers from the UK and overseas and is complemented by the analytical and interpretative skills of HSL's experienced scientific and technical staff.

Further Details
Contact our Business Development Unit by telephone (+44) 01298 218218, fax (+44) 01298 218822 or email hslinfo@hsl.gov.uk.