RWTH Aachen: HCF tests on sheet metal specimens under temperature conditions
With more than 47,000 students, the Rheinisch-Westfälische technische Hochschule Aachen (Public University in Aachen, North Rhine Westphalia), also referred to as RTWH Aachen, is the largest technical university in Germany. RWTH is one of the most renowned universities in Germany with high international recognition.
The customer acquired a ZwickRoell vibrophore to perform tests on metallic materials with efficiency and a minimum amount of energy. The planned tests throughout the transition from finite life fatigue to high cycle fatigue are very time consuming due to the required oscillation cycles.
The Department of Integrity of Materials and Structures conducts both basic and applied research projects with the objective of developing highly stressable materials, and optimally developing their mechanical-characteristic component profiles. Experimental studies are first conducted to characterize physical mechanisms of strain hardening and failure in metallic materials. The characteristic values determined with the experiments are used to calibrate and further develop material models for numerical simulations.
One of the main tests performed is the high cycle fatigue test in a temperature range from ambient temperature to +250 °C. The test focuses on the transition from finite life fatigue to high cycle fatigue. These high cycle fatigue tests are performed on sheet metal specimens under temperature conditions.
Due to the high frequency range of the vibrophore, these tests can be performed very efficiently and with low energy consumption.
