Description of the RI

The Operational Safety Laboratory intends to integrate testing and engineering modelling opportunities related to the operational safety of engineering structures, components and vehicles. It includes a wide range of mechanical, non-destructive, and structural testing, as well as engineering simulation and virtualisation methods. Thus the laboratory can provide special and complex services to industrial partners. In addition, we take part in international research and development projects.

The Laboratory focuses on three main research areas:

The accredited Mechanical Testing Laboratory conducts standard and non-standard qualification-testing of base materials and products and other tests related to product and technology development, with a wide variety of mechanical, composition and structural testing included. In addition, the MTL develops methods and procedures for material-testing, and analyses failure processes of structural materials and complex failure cases.

The Digital Reality and Engineering Simulation Laboratory provides knowledge services which support the product- and technology development, offer expertise on the failure processes of engineering materials and operational safety issues. It integrates activities/capacities supporting by up-to-date information technologies, which leads over the whole development process in the virtual space. By means of up-to-date computer park and simulation software tools the optimisation of the production process and the product can be conducted, the differences between the real and test environment can be analysed, the realistic digital prototype can be made and the behaviour during the operation can be assessed.

The Non-destructive Testing Laboratory deals with the application of different non-destructive testing methods, as well as with the development of NDT methods, analysis of the effectiveness of the testing methods by the means of modelling and elaboration of testing plans.

Activities and Services

Mechanical Testing Laboratory:

• tensile, compression, bending and biaxial testing – static and fatigue (specimen and component testing);
  
• biomechanical tests;
  
• fracture mechanics tests;
  
• tribological tests;
  
• impact tests;
• hardness tests;
  
• welding technology tests;
  
• structural, metallographic and composition tests;
  
• residual stress measurement;
  
• 3D optical strain measurement;
  
• strain measurement with strain gauges;
  
• temperature distribution measurement
  

Digital Reality and Engineering Simulation Laboratory:

• simulation of metallic technologies (volumetric and sheet metal forming, welding, heat treatment – considering structural changes);
  
• simulation of polymer technologies (injection moulding, extrusion);
  
• product design and reliability analyses (i.e.: 2D and 3D modelling, motion simulation, elastic- and plastic deformation analysis, analysis of laminated composites and multi-phase composite materials, etc. – please see our website for a more detailed description)

Non-destructive Testing Laboratory:

• phase array and traditional ultrasonic test;
  
• eddy current testing;
  
• magnetic particle testing;
  
• wall thickness measurement;
  
• penetration test;
  
• simulation of UT test with CIVA software