There is a need for high-volume material testing/qualification but industry and researchers are currently limited by commercially available testing devices. Most wear testers can only handle one sample at a time and are often expensive.

Interior view of one of the environmentally isolated testing modules.

The High-Throughput Friction and Wear Tester enables testing on up to 16 samples simultaneously. It can complete a statistical study of material coatings under a variety of environmental conditions in a few hours rather than months.

The tester can be used to investigate deposition and chemical optimization, speed dependence, reliability, uniformity of coating, and friction/wear behavior. The tester contains multiple environmentally isolated testing modules; each comprises four load cells, loading arms, deadweight loads, and specially designed quick-change ball holders. Each module can have different environmental and loading conditions, allowing users to evaluate the same coating under different conditions. Alternatively, users can test different materials in similar environments to select the right coating for a particular application.

Once the samples are in place, the system’s specially designed software allows users to set test conditions (length, speed, cycle) in each module and automatically acquires, organizes, saves, and displays real-time testing data. In addition to realtime data, the software generates a comprehensive data analysis summary for quick and easy review.

For more information, contact Sandia National Laboratories, Intellectual Property Office, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or visit here .