Cranfield University at Shrivenham is well placed to support the materials testing and quantification capabilities of both local and national businesses as well as international clients.

At the experimental level, we are able to provide access to resources to investigate material properties for new components/systems and also to identify and characterise failure where components have behaved in an off-normal fashion. Importantly, expertise is consistently kept at the cutting edge in order to enhance education and, if desired, this can be leveraged to produce training packages for staff.

We can provide access to key capabilities based at our Shrivenham site, including both existing testing and training capabilities. However, if you have more unique requirements, please contact us directly and we can explore access to University-wide capabilities (employing our extensive facilities located just outside Milton Keynes).

Testing/research facilities

Our site at Shrivenham possesses a wide range of material testing and analysis facilities, all of which can be readily accessed in conjunction with associated technical and scientific expertise. In addition, extensive in-house mechanical and electrical workshops allow for rapid development and manufacture of both testing specimens and bespoke prototypes.

Mechanical and impact testing

  • Low strain-rate tensile tests: Zwick 200kN universal testing machine;
  • Hardness and microhardness testing;
  • Bungie accelerated drop towers;
  • Split Hopkinson pressure bars (tensile, compressive and torsional);
  • Impact testing (including equation-of-state derivation): gas-guns (100-8,000 m/s).

Material analysis

  • Metallurgical/microscopy sample preparation facilities;
  • Optical and electron microscopes, including EDX and EBSD capabilities;
  • Radiography/CT-scanning;
  • X-ray fluorescence capabilities;
  • X-ray diffraction capabilities.

Further details can be found on our Materials Science and Radiation Group page.

Numerical simulation

  • Finite element analysis;
  • Computational fluid hydrodynamics;
  • Hydrocodes (ANSYS Autodyn).

Training

Training can take a number of forms, including attendance at existing short courses, MSc modules (both for credit and CPD) and the provision of bespoke, tailored courses - at our campus or in your workplace. We are also able to provide remote training via a state-of-the-art virtual classroom. In all cases, delivery is underpinned by practical knowledge of the subject matter, with experts also often well published within their area of expertise, bringing the latest research and insight into the classroom.

Existing courses

Materials Engineering and Processing: insight into the structure and properties of materials, the effects of processing and fabrication and common faults that can arise during production.

Failure of Structural Materials: a concise but comprehensive account of the behaviour of materials under stress.

Bespoke courses

For bespoke courses, please contact Dr Jonathan Painter, Head of Microscopy at Shrivenham: j.d.painter@cranfield.ac.uk / +44 (0)1793 785392.

Contact details

Key contact details are provided below for both research and training.

Access to wider experimental resources

Professor David Lane - Head of the Materials Science and Radiation Group: d.w.lane@cranfield.ac.uk / +44 (0)1793 785226

Dr Gareth Appleby-Thomas - Head of Engineering: g.applebythomas@cranfield.ac.uk / +44 (0)1793 785020

Dr Jonathan Painter - Head of Microscopy: j.d.painter@cranfield.ac.uk / +44 (0)1793 785392

Further information on courses (both existing and bespoke)

Dr Jonathan Painter - Head of Microscopy: j.d.painter@cranfield.ac.uk / +44 (0)1793 785392