Summary
The advent of automation in materials testing has been in large part responsible for recent radical changes in the materials testing field: Tests virtually impossible to perform without a computer have become more straightforward to conduct. In addition, standardized tests may be performed with enhanced efficiency and repeatability. A typical automated system is described in terms of its primary subsystems — an analog station, a digital computer, and a processor interface. The processor interface links the analog functions with the digital computer; it includes data acquisition, command function generation, and test control functions. Features of automated testing are described with emphasis on calculated variable control, control of a variable that is computed by the processor and cannot be read directly from a transducer. Three calculated variable tests are described: a yield surface probe test, a thermomechanical fatigue test, and a constant-stress-intensity range crack-growth test. Future developments are discussed.
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Cooper, W.D., Zweigoron, R.B. Materials Testing and Automation. JOM 32, 17–21 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03354559
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03354559