DHBW Heidenheim apply μCT scanning to study reinforced plastics using a Peltier Coolstage from Deben.

Professor Nico Blessing is Engineering Programme Director at the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW) at Heidenheim. Located in the Steinbeis Center for Non-destructive Testing and  Measurement,  the  research  goals  of  the  group  include  the  analysis  of  the  behavior  of  plastic materials.   In   particular,   glass-   and   carbon-fiber   reinforced   parts   are   studied under   variable temperature conditions.  The  aim  of  the  research  is  to  simulate  environmental  conditions  of  real  life parts. In  situ  testing  of  modern  materials  and  measurement  of  complex  parts  under  real  environmental conditions  like  temperature,  compression  or  tension  is  getting  more  and  more  relevant  for  the development  of  many  products.  This is particularly relevant in the automotive and aerospace industries.  Several pan-European  and  national  projects  have  been  conducted  in  the  last  five  years. Small and medium sized companies are interested in the results of this research because innovative materials such as composites are no longer just applied in these industries but also in areas such as leisure and sports.

Describing the background to obtaining a Deben stage, Professor Blessing spoke about the work of his students. “Over  the  last  three  years,  my  students  have  worked  to  develop  two  different  stages. The first offered tension and compression measurements with variable force control up to 5 kN. The second provided environmental control with adjustable temperature and humidity. We then selected the Deben stages because these gave us high accuracy in terms of load and temperature. Also, the stage is perfectly adapted for use in our CT system, a Zeiss METROTOM 800.”The work of the group is illustrated by this montage of four 3D images which show changes in density and pore size of an organic specimen at temperatures from -14.5 °C up to 160 °C.