A Miniaturized Device Coupled with Digital Image Correlation for Mechanical Testing

Miniaturized mechanical testing based on small sample testing technology is a powerful technique to characterize the mechanical properties of different materials, and it is being used in different application fields. However, the small size of the specimens poses several challenges because the results are highly sensitive to measurement accuracy and the corresponding mechanical properties can change substantially due to the so-called specimen size effect. In this work, a novel testing device based on miniaturized specimens is presented. The equipment is designed to test materials in tensile and compressive loadings, but it is also capable of performing reverse-loading tests. Buckling of the specimen is an inherent phenomenon in compression loadings, especially for thin materials. Therefore, specimen geometry is properly studied and optimized to mitigate this effect. To evaluate the deformation of the specimen, the digital image correlation (DIC) technique is used to capture the full-field strain in the central gauge section of the sample. A sensitivity analysis of the DIC setting parameters was performed for this application. To evaluate the performance of the developed system, experimental results of monotonic tests and tests with reverse loadings (tension-compression) are presented, considering two high-strength steels (DP500 and DP780).