Stress and Fatigue Testing

HYPER maintains the CRAFT test stand to perform stress and fatigue testing per ASTM standards on engineering materials at cryogenic temperatures and submerged in cryogenic liquids. CRAFT is capable of testing materials under the following conditions:

• Forces up to 12 kN dynamic or 8.5 kN static
• Frequencies of up to 100 Hz
• Temperatures as low as 4K
• Submersion in liquid Hydrogen or Nitrogen

See also the MTS Acumen Loadframe specification page HERE for more details on the loadframe capabilities. Additionally, many CRAFT tests use Epsilon Miniature Axial Extensometers, see specification page HERE.

CRAFT is capable of testing a wide range of sample sizes and geometries beyond the ASTM standard “dogbone” samples. Sample sizes are limited by the geometry of the MTS loadframe and the cryostat vacuum chamber built into the loadframe. The currently installed test cell has a radius of 1.125 inches and a height of 9 inches, for a total internal volume of 0.57L.

Typical turnaround times for stress and fatigue testing services is one week between receiving the sample and submitting result data.

 

 

Permeability and Offgassing Testing

The CCC Cryostat is currently configured for testing material permeability and offgassing under vacuum conditions and cryogenic temperatures. To perform these tests, the specimen is clamped to form a “cap” around an open tube, and a Pfeiffer Vacuum ASM 340 Mass Spectrometer Leak Detector is placed downstream of the specimen to measure “leakage” through the cap. For permeability testing, the upstream side is pressurized with hydrogen or helium, and for offgassing testing, both sides are kept at vacuum.

Permeability tests may be performed with liquid or vapor helium or hydrogen, at temperatures as low as 5K. Inlet pressures may range from 20 psi to near vacuum.

While CCC is primarily configured to test disks up to 0.05 inches in thickness, CCC’s highly modular nature allows for a wide range of test specimen geometries. CCC has been used in the past to test the integrity of 3-dimensional objects like fuel bladders, and may be used for nondestructive QA/QC testing on components intended to contain cryogenic fluids.

• Permeability Test Fluid: Hydrogen or Helium
• Minimum Temperature: 5K
• High-pressure side pressure range: 20 psi – near-vacuum
• Standard test specimen geometry: discs 0.001 – 0.05 inches thickness by 4.73 inches diameter
• Minimum Detectable Permeation or Offgassing Rate: 3 × 10^-10 mbar l/sec

Ortho-Para Hydrogen Conversion Testing

HYPER maintains the CHEF test stand to perform in-situ flow measurements assessing the ortho-para composition ratio of hydrogen before and after passing through catalysis chambers. CHEF uses Raman spectroscopy cells placed before and after the catalaysis chamber to measure ortho-parahydrogen composition ratios to +/- 2%. These cells are capable of measuring and processing Hydrogen in liquid, vapor, or supercritical states.

• Operating Temperature Range: 415K – 17K
• Pressure Range: 1800 psi – near-vacuum
• Flow rate range: 830 mg/s – 0.084 mg/s

Catalysis testing turnaround times vary greatly depending on the type of test needed, from as low as a week to as long as several months. Contact research operations engineer Z. Beadle at zachary.beadle@wsu.edu for details on test stand availability and turnaround times for the tests your lab needs.

Thermal Conductivity Measurement

HYPER has maintained test stands for precision thermal conductivity measurements at cryogenic temperatures. These facilities are currently disassembled and repurposed into other experimental capabilities, but the highly modular nature of HYPER’s cryostat facilities allows reconfiguration of test stands to meet researcher and client needs. Contact research operations engineer Z. Beadle at zachary.beadle@wsu.edu with your lab’s needs and we’ll see how we can meet them.