The Strength of Materials Lab is used primarily by the Mechanical Engineering Sophomores in the “Mechanics Lab” course. In this course, students in groups of three under the supervision of an instructor conduct tensile testing, torsion testing, bending test, and combined loading test on metallic materials. Students learn about elastic and plastic deformation of metallic materials, determine a material’s mechanical properties, and observe ductile/brittle failure of materials. Occasionally, the equipment in the lab is used students and faculty for design and research projects. Dr. Vinnie Gupta manages this lab.

List of Equipment

• 120,000 lb Tinius Olsen Electomatic Universal Testing System with several Extensometers
• 60,000 lb Tinius Olsen Hydraulic Universal Testing System with a variety of specimen holders
• 10,000 in-lb Tinius Olsen Torsion Testing System
• 22,000 lb Instron Fatigue Tester
• SCXI 1000 National Instrument Strain Gage Data Acquisition Unit
• Bending Test and Combined Loading Test Fixtures
• 40 Ton SPEX Hydraulic Laboratory Pellet Press
• SPEX 8000 Higher Energy Mixer/Mill