High Speed Digital CameraFACILITIES FOR RESEARCH
High Speed Digital Camera
The Dynamic Photomechanics Laboratory at the University of Rhode Island houses a modern ultra high-speed IMACON 468-MkII digital camera capable of taking 16 frames at 200 million frames per second and with an exposure time as low as 5 nanoseconds.
Multiple Spark Gap Camera
The lab also houses a multiple spark gap camera. This unique camera can operate at framing rates between 20000 and 900,000 frames per second. It provides 20 images of a dynamic event at pre-specified times. The light source which is the end of a fiber optic light guide, has an exposure time of 0.5 microseconds and thus essentially freezes the dynamic event in the particular frame.
Instron Material Testing System
The lab is equipped with a state of art Instron 5585 Material Testing System capable of performing Standard Tests for Compression, Tension and Indirect Tension
Gas
Guns
The laboratory also contains several gas guns and a propellent gun and an electromagnetic plane wave generator for impact studies. These gas guns, equipped with interchangeable barrels, are capable of firing 20, 30, 50 and 200-caliber projectiles to velocities on the order of 1 Km/s to produce severe dynamic loading conditions..
Split Hopkinson Pressure
Bars
Sizes available: 2 inch 1/2
inch
The laboratory also houses a half-inch and a two-inch compression, and a two-inch tension split-Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) apparatuses for dynamic material characterization.
LECROY High Speed Data Acquisition System
The data from these SHPB apparatuses can be recorded using the laboratory’s high-speed data acquisition system, LeCroy. This data acquisition system can record data at the rates on the order 50 GHz.
Drop Weight Tower
The fully functional pneumatically assisted drop weight tower in the dynamic photomechanics laboratory can simulate a drop from a five storied building. The drop weight tower provides an impact velocity ranging between 5 and 20 m/s.
Horizontal
Firing Range
The Horizontal Firing Range at DPML is capable of performing Ballistic testing of armor panels and like materials.
Vertical Gun
The vertically mounted 30-06 propellent gun in the lab can drive either lead or tungsten or maraging steel bullets having a length up to 2.5 inches to muzzle velocities on the order of 1 Km/sec. The velocity of these bullets is measured using either a laser-photo diode system or triggering screens.
THE OPTICS AND LASER DIVISION
The Optics and Laser Division of the Dynamic Photomechanics Laboratory is fully equipped with various optical tables, powerful lasers, photo diodes, collimators, lenses and several other optics accessories. The lab has a coherent gradient sensing (CGS) set-up to study various mechanical engineering problems in both reflection and transmission modes. The lab is also has several fiberoptic interferometers including Mach-Zehnder, Michaelson and Fabry-Perot interferometers for very precise and small-scale strain and displacement measurements. The lab possesses a Nikon SMZ-U® stereo microscope for viewing fractured surfaces in fracture mechanics studies, and to develop particle-size distribution in rock mechanics studies. The microscope is connected to a personal computer to grab the images directly in a digital format. A HP 4000 series (1200 dpi) laserjet printer and a HP Photosmart® color deskjet printer provide photorealistic prints of these digital images.
Acoustic Tube
The lab is equipped with Acoustic tube for performing Acoustic experiments on samples of required size and geometry. Acoustic Characterization of heterogeneous material like Asphalt and Cement composites were performed successfully in previous years.
Computational Facilities
The laboratory computational facilities include several IBM PCs and a dedicated SUN Sparc 5 work station. The laboratory also houses a fully computerized digitizer system to abet data processing. The lab also possesses various computer peripherals such as a scanner, printers, and several high capacity disk drives. Also, the University houses state of the art computational facilities.
Casting
Facilities
The relevant casting facilities include a hood, an oven and a vacuum chamber for casting polymers and cementuous materials. The Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics has an excellent darkroom facility and a self-contained machine shop to support its research activities.