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Mechanical testing on composite materials

Composite materials are known for their ability to make structures lighter and are valued in aeronautics, the naval industry, nautical sports, etc. They are used for manufacturing strategic parts and must demonstrate resistance to intense mechanical stress.

We know that securing the mechanical behavior of your innovative materials and assemblies is crucial. We specialize in multiple-property mechanical testing (mechanical, thermal, hygrometry, etc.) and custom create robust economic test fixtures.

Our testing services in Nantes and Saint-Nazaire

Our R&D engineers are intent on applying their scientific rigor in conducting your standardized or complex tests.
Their objective is to approve the strength of your composite parts and prototypes, even in extreme conditions. Our service is complete, from defining test specifications to interpreting results.

Static strength tests

Entrusting a local laboratory with your standardized static or custom-developed tests.

  • Bending test – tensile test – compression test
  • Peeling: assembly resistance
  • Adhesion tests
  • Shear – Torsion – Resilience
  • Hardness tests

Fatigue tests

Fatigue characterization of your composite materials. Determining your parts’ lifetime behavior and damage tolerance.

  • Controlled force and/or displacement tests
  • Fatigue strength: tensile – compression, bending
  • Measuring and monitoring strain (fiber optics, digital image correlation, strain gauges)
  • Measuring internal strain (XRD, fiber optics)
  • Resistance to fracture and fatigue limit – impact of failure on fatigue resistance
  • Failure mode analysis (SEM or digital microscope)

Complex tests in an aggressive environment

Determining composite materials’ strength when exposed to an aggressive environment: immersion, intense heat or humidity, UV exposure, etc.

  • Testing under coupled hygro-thermo-mechanical loads
  • Aging under pressure or different mechanical loads
  • In-situ measurements of hygro-thermo-elastic strain gradients

Custom test benches

Designing custom test benches that are adapted to your composite structures, from centimeter-sized samples to parts that are several meters long.

  • Developing custom test benches that are adapted to your small- or very large-scale structures.
  • Adapting test fixtures
  • Designing and manufacturing benches and tools

Aging tests

We provide you with reliable accelerated aging data to approve models that can predict your composites’ behavior.

  • Thermal or hygrothermal aging
  • UV aging in a dry or moisture-controlled environment
  • UVA or UVB thermal cycling
  • Coefficient of Moisture Expansion (CME) measurement
  • Salt spray aging

Fatigue and additive manufacturing

Using appropriate static and dynamic characterizations to determine the durability and reliability of your additively manufactured parts.

  • Dynamic mechanical analyses (DMA) and fatigue testing
  • Roughness measurements
  • Tensile tests, bending tests, constitutive laws for material behavior: elastic limit, breaking limit, elongation
  • Photoaging (QUV,UV)
  • Quality control (microscopy, colorimetry and gloss)
  • Hygrothermal aging

Composite assembly fatigue

Identifying fatigue resistance of welded, glued, bolted/screwed, or multi-material assemblies, in order to reduce residual stresses more effectively.

  • Analysis of fatigue failure morphology
  • Failure and fatigue limit tests
  • Bond strength
  • Taking account of stress concentrations, residual stresses, etc.
  • Taking surface quality into account
  • Finishing operations for improving fatigue resistance through heat treatment

Challenges we’ve met

Challenges we’ve met

Composites testing for the aerospace…

Composite materials’ behavior must comply with set standards for use in the aerospace industry, as defined by The National Centre for Space Studies (CNES, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales). The verification process includes advanced mechanical tests that require specialized expertise in the mechanical behavior of materials. A leading player in the aerospace industry chose to collaborate with Capacités’ engineers to conduct measurements for u…

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Contributing to the development of…

A leading aeronautical equipment manufacturer turned to the experts at Capacités to assist in completing the final stages in the development of their novel composite material.

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All our expertises

Need an innovative and resourceful partner?

Capacités teams inspire, harness and couple numerous cutting-edge skills covering a wide range of applications and expertise to meet all of your innovation needs with passion and commitment!

+33 (0)2 72 64 88 94

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