Equipment and testing capabilities

Subsonic testing

• Tests of less than 1 m/s to over 300 m/s.
• One of the largest Foreign Object Damage (FOD) guns in the world (250mm bore).
• Hail Gun (at temperatures down to -35⁰C)
• Drop tower
• Extremely high levels of accuracy
• Sample applications:
  • Bird strikes
  • Hail impact
  • Runway debris
  • Blade out
  • Hurricane/Tornado debris
  • Shock testing

Supersonic testing

• Single Stage Light Gas Guns at speeds typically under 2 km/s (100mm and 25mm bores)
• Sample applications:
  • Armour testing
  • STANAG testing – Fragment Simulating Projectile (FSP) & Explosively Formed Projectile (EFP)
  • Ballistic limit (V-50)
  • Material characterization
  • Shock Testing

Hypervelocity testing

• Two-stage Light Gas Guns (25mm and 10mm bores for speeds up to 8 km/s)
• Sample applications:
  • Space armour
  • Military armour
  • Shock physics
  • Material characterization

Environmental and mechanical testing

• Various equipment for environmental testing (RTCA DO-160 and MIL-STD-810G)
• Fire/flammability testing
• Functional testing
• Quasi-static material characterization
• High strain rate material characterization

Launchers

• Two-stage light gas guns - the only two in Canada.
  • 25mm and 10mm bores
  • Speeds up to 8 km/s
• Single-stage light gas guns
  • 100mm and 25mm bores
  • Speeds over 2 km/s
• Foreign Object Damage (FOD) gun - one of the largest in the world
  • 250mm bore
  • Speeds over 300 m/s
• Hail Gun
  • Various bores
  • Speeds over 300 m/s
  • Temperatures down to -35⁰C
• Compressed Air Cannon
  • Various bores
  • Speeds over 200 m/s
• Drop Towers
  • Gravity-accelerated impacts from varying heights up to four metres, and with masses of up to 2,000 kg.

Measurements and diagnostics

• 3 High Speed video cameras
  • 12,500 frames per second at 1024 x 1024 resolution
  • Over 1 million frames per second at reduced resolution
• Framing Camera
  • Up to 1 billion frames per second (nanosecond interframe time)
  • Captures 16 frames per launch or impact
• Digital Image Correlation (3D optical measurements)
  • Measure shapes, strains, deformations, velocities, and accelerations over an entire surface

Complimentary facilities at UNB

• Universal testing machines
  • Multiple universal testing machines for application of compression forces up to 4448 kN and tension forces up to 945 kN
• Strong Floor Structures Lab
  • Testing of large components under various force or displacement-based scenarios
• Microscopy and microanalysis
  • A range of microscopy and spectroscopy instruments allowing for microanalysis of material composition
• Machining and manufacturing
  • CNC machining, welding, 3D printing of metals and polymers, and other material, component, and system manufacturing facilities.