An evaluation of the vibrating reed method for determining the mechanical properties of materials

The vibrating reed method is a recognized technique for the mechanical analysis of materials and offers a number of advantages over other types of test. However, little detailed evaluation of the method has been reported, particularly those aspects which affect accuracy and reproducibility. In this investigation, a vibrating reed apparatus was constructed which incorporated automatic detection of the reed displacement. A number of clamp designs were assessed and a range of materials, including some of biomedical interest, was examined. It was found that significant experimental inaccuracies were present and that these led to errors of approximately 15% in the measured properties. The most important contribution to this error arose from the clamping mechanism.