Mechanical testing of materials is generally required in structural applications but can be an indicator of process control and product in all industrial fields. They are necessary to determine the intrinsic mechanical properties of a material.

Unilab undertakes to carry out different types of tests in order to carry out complete studies on the materials, providing dedicated advice that goes beyond just reading the reports.

The benefits of performing mechanical tests on materials are essentially of two types:

• Establish standardised methodologies in material processing
• Determine the quality of the material for the construction of a product

These tests involve the comparison of results obtained with reference standards in order to assess the mechanical conformity of the materials tested.
They are also used to assess the correct performance of heat treatments, control and verification of welding processes and welder qualification.

The main mechanical tests on materials:

The following mechanical analyses are available in the laboratories of Unilab:

• Tensile tests (cylindrical and flat) allow the breaking strength of many metal materials to be measured, since the test involves subjecting the sample to a stretching process in order to obtain a description of the plastic behaviour of the metals;
• Load and compression tests, the samples are subjected to a compressive force providing useful information on the material and its use
• Bending tests, part of the analyses which allow the behaviour of the sampled metal to be studied;
• The strength tests, carried out at ambient temperature and low temperatures indicate the material’s ability to withstand a force applied in a specific time;
• Hardness and micro-hardness tests, they deal with the resistance to permanent deformation, also provide essential information for the determination of the characteristics of that metal.

The preparation of samples for mechanical tests is carried out in our workshop within the laboratory, and is performed by highly specialized operators.