Fatigue testing: three new testing systems to make the oceans safer

Fatigue, corrosion and structural durability testing for materials exposed to seawater are not only important for current reasons. Zwick has just delivered three HC25 model dynamic testing systems to the French Institut de la Corrosion in Brest. These can be used especially ergonomically for measuring the structural durability with the compact HC models.

For the above mentioned tests, special tanks are used which are filled with natural and artificial seawater under pressure. Material samples are subjected to 3-point flexure tests amongst others with average frequencies of 25 Hz in the tanks. The main focus of the tests is on the influence of corrosive substances on the number of load changes up until breaking. Based on this data, operating life can be better estimated in order to reduce the risk of a pipeline bursting in the ocean for example. The tanks are made of titanium in order to be resistant to seawater, which can be a very aggressive substance, over long periods of time. They also must be able to withstand the corrosive brine and high levels of pressure.

In the design and dimensions of components in off-shore operation, precise knowledge about corrosion fatigue is very important. And as there is no permanent guarantee against corrosion for most materials, reliable measurements regarding how long the material will resist corrosion are necessary.

More information about fatigue testing.