Abstract: Apparatus for testing testpieces (11) in the form of small plates, in which the testpiece is grasped between two pairs of jaws (12,13), which can be moved together. The jaws (12,13) are mounted on the platens (1,4) without hyperstaticity, which reduces the risks of introducing parasitic forces. The testpiece can be notched in such a way that its median portion is exposed to shear. The jaws then have adequate lengths to cover the principal faces of the testpiece (11) virtually up to the notches. The shear field is at a maximum and quasi-uniform in the median surface between the notches. This invention is useful for characterizing the interlaminar shear of plates made from composite materials and includes curved testpieces.

Abstract: A device for low temperature bend-testing of a test piece is disclosed. The device of the present invention comprises fixed and movable units. The fixed unit includes a base which includes at least one substantially vertical stanchion. A tank for holding a volume of low temperature liquid, such as liquid nitrogen, is secured to the base. The movable unit includes a support and a pin. The support structure includes an arch portion and at least one projection. The test piece under test is supported by supports included in the arch portion. The pin is slidably mounted in the structure so as to be displaceable in a direction perpendicular to the test piece when supported by the supports. The device also includes means making the fixed and movable units operable together to permit the test piece to be bend-tested in the tank.

Abstract: The linings of a jaw for traction tests on test piece slivers are made of a moulded material having evolutive hardness and shearing modulus with a variable thickness according to the height of the jaw so as to distribute the clamping forces over this height. This distribution of forces is completed via an excentration of the point of application of the clamping force. Traction tests are performed on test piece.

Abstract: A test piece subjected to a test is embodied from a pellet in which two half-moon shaped notches are embodied, the test piece taking support on two arc-shaped shoulders situated at the base of a clamping jaw extremity having a ribbed support plate. Two jaw extremities are disposed into a female clamping jaw of the test equipment. The present invention provides elements for measuring the residual resistance of a test piece following an atmospheric re-entry.