Tension/Extension Test Device for Ultra High Stren

In this program, DSR proposes to develop a multi-use test system that will be capable of mechanically testing conventional and ultra high-strength geologic and man-made materials and obtaining post-peak stress-strain properties in tri-axial compression and direct tension/ extension (DTE) configurations. In Phase I, mechanical and hydraulic conceptual designs will be developed for the dual-use test device with the capability to apply confining pressures up to 200 MPa to right-circular cylinder samples. This phase will also include developing the servo-hydraulic architectures needed to obtain post-peak material property data for these materials. In the Phase I option portion of this program, DSR plans to design a highly-accurate instrumentation configuration that will allow for accurate measurements as well as provide the servo-loop feedback necessary to obtain the required post-peak behavior of the test sample. In Phase II, the mechanical, hydraulic, and instrumentation designs developed in the Phase I effort will be built, and tested under a variety of different conditions to demonstrate the ability for this device to capture post-peak behavior of test samples.