Materials Performance Testing

Materials Performance Testing is performed to understand corrosion and materials degradation resistance of a variety of materials. Our wide range of testing equipment allows NCERCAMP researchers to accelerate corrosion processes while testing a material's mechanical properties and its performance in high-temperature environments.

Accelerated Testing

Expose coated and uncoated panels to aggressive environments to analyze corrosion resistance
Accelerate damage and predict the material’s performance
Material degradation/corrosion processes are accelerated significantly under extreme environmental conditions
Tests simulate effects of sunlight, dew and rain, generating weathering data in a few weeks or months
Performance of metals, polymers and coatings for damage including color change, gloss loss, chalking, cracking, crazing, hazing, blistering, embrittlement, strength loss and oxidation

Mechanical Testing

Evaluate electrochemical, physical and mechanical properties of coatings
Qualification of hardness of films and coatings of materials varying from polymers to metals
Determination of coating adhesion to substrate through nanoscratch testing
Determination of coating failure mechanisms
Highly localized determination of dynamic mechanical properties
New techniques for testing reliability of commercial alloys
Fatigue crack growth, high-cycle fatigue, low-cycle fatigue, fracture toughness, tension and compression

High-Temperature Testing

Simulate operating stresses experienced in a pressurized water reactor system that is complete computerized
High-temperature, high-velocity (up to Mach 2) burner rig testing with capability for sand ingestion
Stressed oxidation testing under high-velocity, high-water-content atmosphere up to 1450°C
Thermal-barrier-coated (TBC) superalloy system and ceramic matrix composite evaluation
Understand influence of temperature on structure of metal
Continuous measurement of oxidation kinetics as well as change in metal structure
Heat treatments of materials in wide range of atmospheres and temperatures

A Corrosion Engineering student performs hardness testing on a micro-indenter.