TPT March 2011

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March 2011 103 ›
Inspection, Testing & Quality Control
IMATEK Ltd is a UK-based manufacturer of
materials testing equipment used primarily
in the fields of impact testing and polymer
melt rheology. The company’s machines
are used around the world to test the
properties of materials, components and
assemblies, and within a wide range of
industries including aerospace, polymer
processing, automotive, academic research
and steel production.
The use of higher grade steels in oil
and gas pipeline construction is creating
the need for a new generation of specialist
impact testers. Imatek offers a range of drop
weight tear testers (DWTT) for measuring
the fracture characteristics of steel
specimens according to API recommended
practice 5L3, EN 10274 and ASTM-E 436.
Steel grades of X120 and specimens of up
to 50mm can be accommodated.
A major feature of the Imatek range is
the instrumentation and analysis software
that provides high quality information, both
graphical and tabular, for the specimen
failure. Whereas historically the DWTT test
Better steels call for better testing
method has not required instrumentation,
more recent research indicates that it is of
benefit when testing the tougher x-steels.
Instrumentation enables crack initiation and,
most importantly, propagation energies for
the specimen to be determined, which is
considered a better measure of ‘in-use’
performance for these steels.
Imatek also offers an integrated high
speed video option that greatly enhances
understanding of the behaviour of a
specimen as it undergoes impact.
Imatek’s integrated high speed video
system uses its C3008 data acquisition
system to combine signals recorded during
a test event together with high speed
video imagery, all under the control of the
ImpAcqt software. Since the camera and
the data acquisition share the same trigger,
data points and images can be precisely
correlated.
A video sequence provides qualitative
information about the test event, and the
software also allows quantitative information
to be extracted.
Integrated high speed video offers an
advantage in many application areas and is
available as an option for any of the Imatek
range of impact testers or in a stand-alone
mode, making it a general purpose tool
that can be utilised by other parts of a
user’s operation. The system is already
proving useful in the testing of steel tensile
specimens at high rate, enabling detailed
analysis for the deformation of the specimen
gauge length to be undertaken.
Imatek Ltd – UK
Fax: +44 1438 829054
Email:
Website:
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