Mechanical Shock Testing

Element U.S. Space & Defense provides comprehensive mechanical shock testing services designed to evaluate the resilience and performance of devices under harsh conditions. This involves subjecting test devices to sudden and extreme acceleration or deceleration, with instrumentation such as strain gages, load cells, and piezo sensors measuring the device’s response. Multi-channel, wide-band data acquisition systems are used to produce documentation, wave shapes, and spectrum presentations from the sensor data, which engineers then analyze to determine performance.

The services also include thermal shock testing, where devices undergo rapid temperature changes between extremes. This process identifies potential material embrittlement or damage caused by differential expansion and contraction of materials. Element U.S. Space & Defense utilizes a variety of test chambers capable of rapidly altering temperatures and employs multiple sensors to ensure accurate temperature matching with the surroundings during testing.

Furthermore, the company specializes in vibration testing to prevent excessive wear, loosening of fasteners and connections, component damage, and malfunction of sensitive equipment like optical devices. They are equipped to handle exotic vibration profiles and have a 40-year history of successfully testing electrical components, black boxes, antennas, hydraulic components, material samples, and complete structures under extreme conditions, including shock induced by gunfire and ordnance.