Systems integration expertise is valuable for innovative high-temperature testing because it reduces data variability and allows for fewer tests in order to achieve accurate results. Grips, extensometers, furnaces, and environmental chambers are potential sources of experimental error. Variability that arises from these components tends to be systemic, so solving an issue with one tends to raise issues with another.

Automated mechanical testing can reduce results variability, save time and money, and enhance safety. This article gives some examples of testing automation and the advantages it confers.

Non-contacting extensometry offers a wide range of benefits in materials tests. Depending on the specific application, non-contacting extensometry may be the only option for strain measurement.

Existing strain measurement techniques do not offer enough information about how failures occur, so alternative methods are needed. One technique involves using digital image correlation (DIC) to measure full field strain over the entire material surface. DIC works by capturing a series of images throughout a test and analyzing them afterwards.

This article discusses the capabilities of a compression test system developed to evaluate composite coil springs for automotive suspension systems.