This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a compact physical design and integrated control system to commercialize a recently developed high temperature mechanical testing instrument equipped with an in-situ surface analysis capability. The base structure of the instrument consists of an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) chamber which combines mechanical tensile testing and high temperature heating with careful control of the gas phase environment. In-situ analysis is added to the mechanical testing in the form of Moire-interferometry (measuring solid mechanics full field surface deformations), and scanning electron microscopy with spectroscopic chemical mapping (measuring microstructural morphology and chemical transformations). The integrated instrument will provide detailed in-situ experimental information applicable to both continuum mechanics modeling and microstructural materials science investigations of material systems exposed to harsh high temperature and reactive gas environmental conditions. The scope of Phase I research, initiation of commercialization of the instrument, will be to improve the mechanical and optical design for smaller size, greater affordability, and increased performance. The control of the various analytical components will also be integrated to enhance real time data interaction and remove redundancies in the control electronics. The mechanical testing system with in-situ surface analysis is attractive to researchers studying high performance alloy systems with attention to both their solid mechanics and microscopic behavior in extreme environments of high temperatures and reactive gases. The commercialized instrument will be of utility in materials science and engineering R&D laboratories as well as commercial materials testing facilities.
