TWI has a comprehensive range of fatigue testing facilities at its Cambridge headquarters and is able to provide a multitude of UKAS-accredited tests that satisfy various standards.
Our experience covers the full range of fatigue testing types:
- High- and low-cycle testing of parent materials
- Fatigue endurance testing of welded specimens
- Constant- and variable-amplitude testing
- Fatigue crack growth rate testing for parent materials, weld metal and heat-affected zone
- Bespoke full-scale tests on large structural connections.
Our assets include the following:
- Wide range of universal fatigue testing machines, maximum load 2500kN, loading frequency 0.001‑200Hz, for endurance fatigue testing in air
- Bespoke mooring chain test rig with a 6000kN load capacity
- Four large-scale rigs capable of maximum loads up to 40MN for full-scale component fatigue endurance testing in air
- Smaller-capacity machines for fatigue crack growth testing in air or seawater environments (SENB specimens as standard)
- Seven resonance fatigue test machines accommodating pipes with diameters between six and 36 inches
- Unique experience of data analysis and interpretation.
Many standards require physical testing of materials and components to provide additional assurance of fatigue integrity, and our extensive testing facilities allow us to provide Industrial Members with that assurance.
Application
Fatigue testing is appropriate for various reasons. For example:
- The fatigue crack growth rate of a specific parent material or weld may be needed to allow a fatigue engineering critical assessment (ECA) to be carried out
- The S-N curve for a new weld detail or welding procedure may be required at the design stage
- To validate fatigue performance under a measured service loading spectrum.
Benefit
Data from physical tests provide designers and engineers with additional assurance of fatigue integrity before new designs are placed into service.
For more information, please email contactus@twi.co.uk.