Testing materials can involve some heavy lifting. Some high force capacity test fixtures can weigh upwards of 50 or 100 lbs. A recent customer required a variety of tests for a geotextile sample and went searching for a more lightweight solution.
This customer desired to test geotextile, a mesh-like material made to strengthen and sculpt soil for roads, embankments, canals, man-made ponds and many more applications. The customer wanted to do several tests, including a puncture test. This test had to be in accordance with the industry standard, ASTM D6241. Problems arose when the client realized that his machine operators would need to change fixtures throughout the day, lifting and moving this 125 lb fixture by hand.
TestResources application engineers took one look at this issue and proposed a modified solution for the customer. Our engineers started with a special high force capacity hydraulic clamping fixture designed to test strictly in accordance with ASTM D6241. In this fixture, the geotextile sample is clamped between circular plates and force is exerted against the center of the unsupported portion of the test specimen by a steel plunger attached to the load indicator until rupture occurs. Next, our engineers’ design focused on the safety and operation needs of the client.
Rather than forcing the operators to lift the heavy puncture fixture every time to change out test fixture set ups, we configured the test fixture to have a modified adapter at the top for easy fixture mounting. The clamps were also designed for safety. They only opened enough for the thin textile sample to slide through without fingers getting caught and clamped. Alongside these convenient modifications, this high force capacity hydraulic clamping fixture applies
up to 100 kN clamping force (or 22,500 lbs).
GD6241-175 Hydraulic Clamping Fixture
