A System for Conducting Sophisticated Mechanical Tests In Situ with High Energy Synchrotron X-Rays

Experiments using synchrotron radiation to understand engineering material failure modes such as fracture and fatigue require specialized machinery. This machinery must be able to induce these failure modes on material specimen while adhering to strict size, weight, and geometric limitations dictated by radiation diffraction measurement techniques. This project will develop a load frame that is capable of inducing fracture from excessive load and fatigue from cyclically varying load on material specimen while x-rays explore the deformation at microscopic length scales. The load frame will be compatible with positioning and weight requirements as prescribed by the radiation diffraction methods employed during the experiments. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: We currently compensate for our lack of understanding of fracture and fatigue by employing factors of safety in crucial system components