In 2023, the Institute of Health & Analytics at the Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) in Malaysia, acquired a 3-camera FlexDIC system. The newly purchased FlexDIC system is being used for optical measurements of adaptive, additive samples for smart material applications. The system is also being used for the tuition of engineering students and for further research in materials testing.
The advantage of using DIC is that it is the only technique that can be used for the measurement of full-field strain. When performing tensile tests on additive, adaptive samples, heat is applied to cause elongation whereby the purpose of the measurement is to measure the amount of elongation, necking, and true strain concentration before failure.
In the case of complex-additive samples, there is a different strain condition at every point, which cannot be represented by performing classic tensile testing nor assessed with strain gauges, since the heat application prevents attachment. As such, DIC is an ideal measurement technique that spatially resolves strain and provides clear measurement data.
A researcher, Ts Dr Mohd Faizal Sadali from the Research & Development Building Laboratory says “the 3-camera FlexDIC solution is ideal for performing the tests that we require. The additional 3rd camera that is aligned perpendicular to the test object surface allows us to better capture the contour of the additive samples that we manufacture since they can be curved and complex. This in turn allows us to get much better accuracy with our strain data.
Additionally, the system is quite user-friendly, and we appreciate the tools that allow setup and configuration to be done with ease, such as the automated projection calibration, the real-time focus feedback, and real-time pattern quality evaluator.
Being a research institute and university, we also have a large number of users of the DIC system, so we like the eLearning platform and DIC Basic User Training courses.”
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