Nanomechanical Testing to 1000 °C
Researchers are increasingly demanding that test conditions closely mimic real-world environments in order to provide the most reliable, accurate prediction of mechanical properties. The NanoTest Xtreme provides a vacuum environment for testing up to 1000 °C.
This cutting-edge technology facilitates the investigation of next generation engineering materials. Applications include tool coatings for high speed machining, high temperature aerospace engine components and irradiation effects in nuclear reactor cladding.
Testing superalloys to 1000 °C
Nanoindentation is ideally suited to further the development of high-temperature materials, such as the (Ni,Co)CrAlY bond coats protecting nickel-based superalloys in turbine blades.
Until very recently, the operating temperatures of these materials were out of reach for nano-indentation systems. However, the unique geometry of the NanoTest Xtreme, along with the localised heating zone, allowed scientists at RWTH Aachen in Germany to push testing temperatures up to 1000 °C and gather valuable information on the hardness and creep behaviour of an Amdry-386 bond-coat [1] (see figure 1).