The Advanced Structural Testing Centre (ASTC) is the testing and certification centre for the AMRC.
The ASTC provides the capacity, capability, and commitment to close the loop on the total engineering process within the AMRC. Test capabilities range from coupons to prove the material properties of new manufacturing processes, to complete finished components and assemblies.
Certification and product validation are critical to the adoption of new manufacturing methods and technologies. Many of the techniques and products developed at the AMRC will be used for safety-critical components. Because even small changes can significantly affect final performance, it is vital to fully understand the performance of structures and materials.
Without the right certification, it is impossible to introduce innovative methods and technologies into the supply chain for aerospace or other highly regulated industries.
The ASTC can help you prove your technologies and achieve certification. Our capabilities are available to AMRC research groups, member companies, and external companies.
Backed up by the resources and expertise of the AMRC, we are able to physically validate research, analysis, material properties, components, sub assemblies, and full assemblies for both research and commercial projects.
The ASTC is accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). We are currently the only structural test facility within a UK university to hold ‘in-house methods’ accreditation. This means that we are not restricted to testing to specified international procedures, but can develop new test procedures in collaboration with our customers to prove out components under real-world conditions.
We also have specific accreditation for tensile testing to ASTM E8M, and certification for a wide range of standard tests including pressure testing up to 350Bar. For details, download our UKAS schedule.
For more information, please see our pages about ASTC capabilities, resources, projects and people, or download the ASTC equipment brochure (pdf 5MB).
Contact:
Phil Spiers, Head of ASTC
email: p.spiers@amrc.co.uk