Topic outline

  • General

    This is in essence a lab course, with as raison d'être that for students who will be doing research with me that involves digital image correlation measurements, I need them to know the basics of mechanical testing in general and digital image correlation in particular. As such, priority for enrollment is given to students who will need to do mechanical testing in our labs for their research. The course is also suitable as a general introduction to mechanical testing of materials and digital image correlation measurements, for students with an interest in engineering materials or solid mechanics. The lectures provide a brief overview of the theoretical background and general principles, as well as an opportunity for discussion of the course content. Attendance to the lectures is appreciated, but not mandatory. The course includes three laboratory exercises, carried out in small groups, where you will have the hands-on experience of three different kinds of measurements commonly used in mechanical testing of materials. The main learning methods in this course are these hands-on activities, and the subsequent group discussions of your laboratory reports where you compare your observations from the laboratory experiments with those of participants in other groups, who did similar but slightly different experiments. Active participation in the laboratory exercises and the group discussions is mandatory. In lieu of a final exam, you write a case study report about a mechanical test you are personally interested in.

    Lectures:
    1. course introduction + context and applications of mechanical testing of materials
    2. hardness and indentation measurements
    3. loading fixtures and measurement of force, position, or deformation
    4. optics and cameras for full-field measurements in experimental mechanics
    5. digital image correlation principles and applications
    6. post-processing of full-field measurements + introduction to virtual fields method

    Laboratory exercises:
    1. hardness mapping
    2. digital image correlation
    3. tensile testing

    Contact information:

    Teacher in charge: Sven Bossuyt <sven.bossuyt@aalto.fi>
    Course assistant: Ville Björklund <ville.bjorklund@aalto.fi>
    Please include the course code MEC-E6007 at the start of the subject line in any emails you send about the course.