Active Materials Characterization Laboratory

Abstract : The Active Materials Laboratory has recently acquired upgraded and new equipment made possible by the AFOSR in the form of a research grant as a part of the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program. These purchases have aided the laboratory in achieving its goals of improving the current testing and analysis capabilities as well as contributing to the ability of creating a Remotely Observable Active Materials (ROAM) Laboratory. The ROAM Laboratory has been established to expand the knowledge base of active materials in general through cooperative learning and education from applicable experiments. A variety of equipment has been purchased by means of the DURIP research grant including: (1) a Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC); (2) a tension/torsion test frame; (3) upgraded control and data acquisition capabilities of existing MTS servo-hydraulic tensile load frames; (4) widefield metallograph; (5) in-situ low force load apparatus for observation with the widefield metallograph; and (6) a quantitative metallographic analysis system. A brief description of each of the equipment listed as well as its integration into the ROAM Lab will be given in the following section.