The primary purpose of this lab is to evaluate the properties and response of non-biological materials to forces and stresses. Below is a list of the equipment used in this lab.
1. Servo-Hydraulic Testing Machine
- MTS Model 204.52 Hydraulic Actuator Testing Machine
- Used to examine the physical strength of materials
- Produces computer controlled displacements or forces in sine or ramp wave shapes
- Capable of producing 50ms sinewave load or position controlled impacts of up to 20,000 Newtons
- MTS Model 458.2 Microconsole with data captured to a computer controlled 16 bit A2D board running National InstrumentsLabView(tm) software
2. Biaxial Testing Fixture
- Custom designed table and mount with hydraulic actuator
- Used in conjunction with MTS Servo-Hydraulic Actuator to provide force along two separate axes
- Can be used for 2-dimensional loads of human and animal joints
3. Biaxial/Triaxial Torque/Compression Testing Fixture
- Custom designed table and mount with linear and rotary actuators
- Used in conjunction with MTS Servo-Hydraulic Actuator to produce translational and rotational forces on two or three axes.
- Used in experimentation on the behavior of knee joints under loading
4. VICON Motion Capture System
- Uses multiple cameras placed at different angles to measure motion in real-time.
- Detects position of reflective markers placed on biological landmarks of joints or bones in absolute dimensions and relative to one another.
- Information can be used to track motion of particular bone or joint to measrue torque or displacement.
- Has been used to track motion of the talus during ankle torsion as well as femur and tibia motion durign hyperextension.
5. Screwdrive Testing Machine
- Can produce large displacement, position controlled, slow speed motion
- Forces generated can be used to evaluate the strength of various materials
- Has been used to test the glue strength of shoe sole construction
6. Turf Tester
- Uses static loads to simulate the body weight of an athlete
- Uses a surrogate ankle that can measure torsional rotation of the ankle and at the shoe
- Has been used in a study of football cleats funded by the NFL