Cetim, a Carnot-labeled technological institute, has just acquired a vibrophore for fatigue tests of high loads at high frequencies. This equipment, unique in France, joins the family of Cetim's material characterization equipments and opens the way to more complete and more complex services.
The brand new machine dedicated to fatigue tests, a vibrophore from the Swiss manufacturer Rumul, is able to apply loads up to 550 kN under stress frequencies from 50 to 150Hz (thanks to a magnetic resonance system), it is also adapted to tests on specimens of great thickness and whose length can reach 850 mm!
Faster and more complex testing than before
The vibrophore is equipped with hydraulic jaws that ensure faster placement of specimens for testing, and a state-of-the-art controller to which various sensors can be connected to collect and process additional data during operations. The whole system allows for shorter test times and more complex tests than before, complemented by calculation and result interpretation services.
First application in offshore wind energy
This XXL vibrophore started its career with a series of tests on 300 welded specimens of great thickness (25 mm) for an international R&D project in the offshore wind industry. It also opens up prospects for characterizing thick materials on a scale of 1 for other sectors: the naval and oil and gas industries, of course, but also for performance tests on small structures in the automotive, rail, handling and lifting equipment, aeronautics and energy sectors.
A family of fatigue test equipment
This third vibrophore completes Cetim's range of fatigue testing machines, whose range extends from a few Newtons to 3000 kN, and which adds to the offer of tests under vibratory environment, the laboratory having also seven vibrators, two of which targeting aeronautical applications for short duration tests and a third acquired in 2020 for important shock and vibration tests over a long period of time, intended for the sectors of transport, oil and gas industry and defense.
Cetim thus has a unique extended test offer on the territory for the reliability and the qualification of products.