Equipment and Services | Ballistic & Mechanical Test Lab | UNB

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Ballistics and Mechanical Test Lab

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.