Portable Indentation Device Eliminating Frame Deformation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current indentation devices suffer from measurement errors due to deformations of the frame and interface displacements, limiting their ability to accurately determine mechanical properties of materials, and are often non-portable and not suitable for testing large or toxic materials.
Innovation Solution
A portable device with a one-piece indenter and advanced displacement sensors arranged in a balanced configuration around the indenter, eliminating frame deformations and interface issues, allowing for accurate measurement of actual penetration without a solid frame, enabling testing of large or toxic materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a rigid frame is used to minimize deformations during indentation testing, then measurement precision is improved, but device portability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the rigid frame from the indentation testing device, extracting the source of portability limitations. Instead of using a traditional rigid frame structure, the invention employs a flexible support system that eliminates the need for heavy structural components while maintaining measurement accuracy through alternative stabilization methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the structural parameters of the device by transitioning from a rigid frame to a flexible support system. This parameter change allows the device to achieve both portability and measurement precision by using materials and configurations that provide sufficient stiffness for accurate measurements without the weight penalty of traditional rigid frames.
2Ease of manufacture
If commercial indenters with crimped or glued mounting are used, then ease of manufacture is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates due to interface displacements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the indenter tip and its support structure into a single integrated component. This one-piece construction eliminates the interface between the indenter and its mounting, thereby eliminating the displacements that occur at crimped or glued joints while maintaining ease of manufacture through monolithic fabrication processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention segments the indenter support into multiple balanced displacement sensors arranged around the indenter. This segmentation allows for precise measurement of the indenter's position by distributing the sensing function across multiple independent sensors, thereby compensating for any residual deformations and achieving high measurement precision.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If displacement sensors are mounted on commercial test benches, then measurement capability is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates due to deformations of test bench elements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary balanced support structure that isolates the displacement sensors from the deformations of the test bench. This intermediary support system provides a stable reference frame for the sensors, allowing them to accurately measure indenter displacement without being affected by deformations in the surrounding test bench structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses asymmetric arrangement of multiple displacement sensors around the indenter to create a balanced measurement system. By positioning sensors at different locations and orientations, the system can detect and compensate for deformations in various directions, thereby achieving high measurement precision even when mounted on a flexible, non-rigid test bench.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a novel portable device, with no solid frame, for making an instrumented indentation in a material in order to infer the mechanical properties thereof. Continuous or instrumented indentation consists of measuring force and movement as an indenter is pushed into the material to be tested. Said device is made up of a compact sheath and the lower base thereof, which can have variable shapes according to the geometry of the material to be tested; a piston sliding in the sheath with the translational movement thereof controlled manually by a user, a handling arm, a mechanical column or even a robot; an elastic ring or a spring limiting the translational movement of the piston; three motion sensors arranged so as to form an equilateral triangle around an integral indenter of any geometry; and a force sensor for measuring the force variations as the indenter is pushed into the material to be tested.