Automotive Materials Testing

Automotive Testing Expertise

Many companies can provide materials testing solutions, but very few have the strong relationships with automotive manufacturers that MTS does, and even fewer can offer the broad range of full-vehicle and component testing equipment that MTS can.

As a trusted test system provider, MTS works closely with automotive manufacturers and motorsport teams, and we see first-hand what is happening with automotive vehicle development. We use this knowledge to create testing solutions that help engineers reduce development time and improve vehicle performance and durability.

This powerful combination of automotive industry knowledge and testing expertise helps us create automotive materials testing solutions that address the industry’s latest innovations, including solutions for electric, autonomous and new energy vehicles.

Automotive design is always evolving and whether manufacturers need stronger, lighter materials for fuel efficiency and crashworthiness, or materials that can protect new fuel delivery systems, MTS has the testing solutions needed to characterize and validate materials for use in automotive applications.

High Temperature Testing

Exhaust systems need to operate at high service temperatures of up to 1050°C in an aggressive environment. MTS offers a selection of standard & tailored high temperature testing solutions to support the characterization of materials that are used to build engine and exhaust systems.

The MTS High-Temperature Standard Solution includes everything required to meet ISO, ASTM and other standards for a variety of materials tests including:

» High-temp Tensile

» High-temp Creep

» High-temp Creep-Fatigue

» High-temp Crack Initiation

» High-temp Compression

» High-temp Fracture Mechanics (JIc, J-R curve, Fatigue Crack Growth)

» Thermomechanical Fatigue

Static & Dynamic Materials Testing of Plastics, Composites, Metals, Fasteners & Adhesives

Fuel efficiency requirements and the development of electric and autonomous vehicles are driving the need for lightweight materials. Automotive materials testing labs need to perform sophisticated testing to develop complex material and component models that are required to integrate those materials into newly developed vehicles.

MTS supports a full range of static and dynamic mechanical test methods under a variety of environmental conditions for plastics, polymer matrix composites, metal materials, fasteners and adhesives.

High Strain Rate Testing

High-rate dynamic tests are used to simulate automotive accidents. In these and other critical applications, test engineers need equipment that can perform a variety of tests at the correct strain rates. These systems need to capture high-quality data throughout the test, with streamlined setup and enhanced control of the test. To meet all of these challenges, MTS delivers a family of high-rate servohydraulic test systems specifically designed to support a full spectrum of dynamic testing.

High Frequency Testing

Elastomers are used for many application in the automotive industry, including tires, suspension systems, and engine & exhaust mounts. MTS provides a full complement of electromechanical and servohydraulic test systems supporting frequencies up to 1000 Hz, as well as single-axis systems for low-, medium- and high-frequency tests, and multiaxial solutions for accurately measuring static and dynamic elastomer behavior during research and development.

High Voltage Battery Applications

MTS offers a range of system level solutions with accessories, including grips, fixtures, extensometers, and material testing software to perform tensile testing of thin sheets and films, and compression, and flexure tests of battery subcomponents. In addition, MTS offers advanced structural test system to support full-scale battery pack testing compliant with ISO 12405. All these tools work together to capture the mechanical behavior of advanced materials under real service conditions.

High Pressure Corrosion Testing

Many different materials are used in hydrogen-powered fuel cell stacks, storage tanks and exhaust systems and their mechanical material properties need to be determined under the real service conditions, including the hydrogen high pressure environment and present temperature ranges.

Exposure to hydrogen gases can cause corrosion of metals and composite materials, a condition that can be made worse in higher-temperature or high-pressure environments, resulting in increased possibility for corrosion and environmental-assisted cracking, such as hydrogen embrittlement or stress corrosion. Studying these chemically induced aging mechanisms will help create safer cars and minimize failures due to mechanical degradation, fatigue, and creep.