Shock Testing

Mechanical Shock Testing

Mechanical shock testing typically involves subjecting a test device to sudden and extreme amounts of acceleration or deceleration while instrumentation, such as strain gages, load cells, piezo sensors and more. The goal of the test is to measure the device’s response. Multi-channel, wide-band data acquisition systems produce documentation, wave shapes, and spectrum presentations using this sensor data. Engineers then analyze the recorded response to determine performance.

At Element U.S. Space & Defense, we perform mechanical shock testing using the following methods:

• Pyrotechnics to simulate pyro-shock
  Pyro-shocks are often encountered in spacecraft flight when rocket booster stages are separating and in military applications when weapons are being fired or ordinances are being detonated.
• Drop Testing
  This occurs up to 80ft (24m) for testing the resilience of items against mishaps that could happen during transportation, handling, and expected use.
• Drop towers to induce mechanical shock
  Our drop towers are able to deliver peak acceleration in excess of 20,000g (196,000 m/s²).
• Air gun generated hydroshock
  In this type of test, an air gun fires a blast of air into a volume of water to generate shock waves within that volume of water.
• Free-fall and variable force test techniques
  These techniques produce shocks up to 15,000g (147,000 m/s²).
• Shipboard shock testing to MIL-DTL-901E.
• Simulated catapult launch/arrested landing per MIL-STD-331.

Temperature Shock Testing

Thermal shock occurs when devices are forced to undergo rapid temperature changes between extremes. Temperature swings can cause materials to become brittle or cause damage as different materials change size and shape during temperature changes.

At Element U.S. Space & Defense, we utilize a variety of test chambers capable of rapidly altering temperatures of test devices. By using a variety of sensors, we can ensure that test devices actually match their temperatures with their surroundings during thermal shock testing.

What is Vibration Testing?

Vibrations have been known to cause excessive wear, loosen fasteners, loosen connections, damage components, and cause devices such as optical equipment to malfunction. For any piece of mobile equipment to be functional, it needs to withstand some vibration. Equipment designed for rugged or hostile environments needs to withstand a lot of vibration without breaking down or wearing out prematurely. And the only way to know if something will withstand its intended application is to test it accordingly.

Special Applications

Since exotic profiles are our specialty, Element U.S. Space & Defense can carry out the required testing. In the last 40 years of shock and vibration testing, we have successfully tested electrical components, black boxes, antennas, hydraulic components, material samples, and complete structures under all sorts of exotic and extreme conditions — such as shock induced by gunfire, ordnance-induced shock, and more.

Do you have a challenge for us? Contact us and we’ll find a solution.