A MECHANICAL SPECTROMETER FOR BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS

THIS RESEARCH WILL DEVELOP A GENERAL PURPOSE MECHANICAL TESTING MACHINE (MECHANICAL SPECTROMETER) FOR BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS. THIS MICROPROCESSOR-BASED MACHINE WILL PERFORM STANDARD MATERIAL TESTS AS WELL AS COMBINATIONS OF THESE TESTS BY CALLING DIFFERENT SOFTWARE PROGRAMS. USING A MICROPROCESSOR WITH SOFTWARE CONTROL WILL ALSO RESULT IN A RELATIVELY SIMPLE MACHINE THAT CAN BE PRODUCED AND SOLD AT ARELATIVELY LOW PRICE. IN PHASE I, SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS WILLDESIGN A PROTOTYPE MATERIALS TESTING MACHINE TO PERFORM CONSTANT STRAIN RATE, CREEP (STEP CHANGE IN LOAD), STRESS RELAXATION (STEP CHANGE IN DISPLACEMENT), AND OSCILLATORY TESTS IN BOTH FORCE AND DISPLACEMENT CONTROL MODES AND IN COMPRESSION, TENSION, OR TORSIONAL MODES. THE PROPOSED INSTRUMENT WILL HAVE APPLICATIONS IN BOTH BASIC RESEARCH AND COMMERCIAL TESTING.