Since its very beginnings, MCL deals intensively with the characterisation of extremely high strength and brittle materials like high strength steels, hard metals or highly wear resistant materials. The main focus of methodical developments has always been put on the development of characterisation methods for determination of the mechanical properties, e.g. yield strength, flow behaviour, ductility, fracture toughness but also cyclic properties like LCF- and HCF-behaviour as well as da/dN-curves, of materials with highest strength. In turn, these measurement data form the fundamental basis for the description of the material and damage behaviour during service.
Nowadays, MCL is capable of testing all these properties not only at room temperature but in a temperature range from -100°C to more than 1200°C.
Examples for that development are:
- Cyclic strain-controlled testing of hard metals up to 900°C
- LCF-behaviour incl. threshold value determination of extremely high strength tool steels
- da/dN-behaviour incl. threshold value determination of high strength steels
- Study of the growth of small cracks in high strength steels by means of artificial small defects, introduced by FIB milling