Micro Materials NanoTest Vantage Testing Suite with NTX4Controller

拟议的投标将为英国提供世界领先的纳米机械和纳米摩擦学测试设施，可供所有英国学术机构和英国工业使用。Micro Materials Vantage系统在定位精度和测试速度方面比以前的系统有了长足的进步。它能够在一系列不同的环境中进行6种基本不同的机械或摩擦学测试（压痕、划痕、冲击、疲劳、磨损、微动），并提供定制测试以模拟服务环境的能力。在纳米级进行机械和摩擦学测试的能力对于许多不同的科学学科至关重要。在摩擦学中，宏观尺度接触的行为，如髋关节的轴承表面接触，是由纳米尺度的界面相互作用。表面的纳米机械和纳米摩擦学行为的评估，以及接触运动过程中形成的表面层或摩擦膜的调查，对于接触行为的基本理解是至关重要的，它为预测建模提供了重要信息。在制造和材料科学中，新的制造和加工技术，如激光加工和放电加工，在材料表面上产生微米量级的微结构、薄表面层和纹理。这意味着传统的硬度、磨损和冲击测试方法根本不足以对其进行评估。这种微观结构和织构的形成可以提高和降低部件在使用中的性能;因此，在适当规模下测试相关性能的能力至关重要。涂料科学是一个跨越多个学科的领域，从船舶油漆薄膜到喷气发动机涡轮机叶片的硬涂层。虽然这些涂层的厚度可以变化，但用于耐磨、抗冲击和耐腐蚀的硬涂层通常可以为1-50微米厚，具有适合其目的的特性。涂层的低厚度意味着它们与基底的粘附力和机械性能对于预测其性能至关重要，只能通过纳米级测试来获得。许多天然材料如骨和软骨具有复杂的层次结构，这些结构一直延伸到纳米级。发生在纳米和微米尺度上的变化控制着宏观尺度的性质和性能，评估这些水平的能力为骨关节炎和骨质疏松症等疾病的起源提供了有价值的见解。

The proposed bid will provide the UK with a world leading nanomechanical and nanotribological testing facility, with access available to all UK academic institutions and UK industry. The Micro Materials Vantage System represents a step-change in repositioning accuracy and testing speed than previous systems. It provides the ability to undertake 6 fundamentally different mechanical or tribological tests (Indentation, Scratch, Impact, Fatigue, Wear, Fretting), in a range of different environments, offering the ability to tailor tests to simulate service environments.The ability to mechanically and tribologically test at the nano-scale is vitally important for a number of different scientific disciplines. In Tribology, the behaviour of macro-scale contacts such as the bearing surface contact of a hip joint, is governed by the interfacial interactions at the nano-scale. Assessment of the nanomechanical and nanotribological behaviour of the surfaces, and the investigation of the surface layers or tribofilms formed during contact motion, is vital to the fundamental understanding of the contacts behaviour, and it provides crucial information for predictive modelling. In manufacturing and materials science, new manufacturing and processing techniques such as laser processing and electrical discharge machining, produce microstructures, thin surface layers and textures on material surfaces which are of the order of microns in size. This means conventional hardness, wear and impact testing methods are simply not sufficient to assess them. This microstructure and texture formation can enhance and detract from the performance of the component in service; therefore the ability to test relevant properties at the appropriate scale is vital. Coatings science is a field which spans a multitude of disciplines ranging from ship antifouling paint films through to hard coatings for the turbine blades of jet engines. While these coatings can vary in thickness, hard coatings for wear, impact and erosion resistance can be typically 1-50 microns thick with properties tailored to fit their purpose. The low thicknesses of the coatings mean their adhesion to the substrate and mechanical properties which are vital to the prediction of their performance can only be accessed through nano-scale testing.Many natural materials such as bone and cartilage have complex hierarchical structures which extending down to the nano-scale. Changes occurring at the nano and micro-scale govern the macro-scale properties and performance and the ability to assess these levels provides valuable insights into the origins of conditions such as Osteoarthritis and Osteoporosis.