Timber, Steel and Plastics

One of the largest and stiffest load frames available in Australia for structural testing is located within the TSE laboratory at Penrith. This frame has a maximum span of 5500 mm and a width of 2650 mm. It can presently accommodate specimens up to 1500 mm high, but other sizes can be accommodated by special request. A smaller frame with an enclosed volume of 2000 x 1800 x 1100 mm is available for intermediate sized specimens, and a small frame can accommodate specimens up to 1200 x 600 x 500 mm. All the frames are extremely stiff (load train stiffness up to 1200 kN/mm) and are therefore suitable for testing brittle and unstable materials and structures such as concrete pipes, composite members, and thin-walled elements such as spars and posts. The design of the frames is such that large panel-shaped specimens can be fitted into the frames. Indeed, TSE has the capacity to test larger panel-shaped specimens than most other laboratories in Australia. The largest loads that can be applied are 350 kN over a stroke of 250 mm.