9532043 Wu This Research Equipment Grant will be used to purchase the electronics, temperature control chamber and computer to upgrade an existing servo-controlled axial-torsion materials testing system in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Iowa. The equipment will be used for projects that represent a broad range of research activities that require multi- axial loading capability. The research projects include large plastic deformation of aluminum, mechanics of damaged materials, deformation, fatigue and failure of metal matrix and polymer composites, strength and cracking of fresh water ice and strength of human lumbar spinal implants. These projects will be carried out by several faculty members and will increase interactions among researchers of significantly different disciplines and research interests. ***
