Inside CIMR’s Testing Facilities

Fired Up To Help You

Each year catastrophic fires in the United States claim thousands of lives and cause billions of dollars in property damage. Lawrence Tech is meeting the challenge by examining how structural materials respond to very high temperatures.

CIMR houses a state-of-the-art Fire Chamber that enables researchers to conduct large-scale testing of structural components at temperatures of up to 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit and simulate conditions of the 9/11 tragedy at the World Trade Center. Large enough to fit a full-sized military HMMWV, the Fire Chamber also lets researchers conduct tests on military vehicles, especially those subjected to blast and fire on the battlefield.

Let the Force Be With You

Lawrence Tech’s Center for Innovative Materials Research has three separate structural testing areas to accommodate multiple projects, handling structures up to 100 feet long with both static and repeated loads up to one million pounds of force.

CIMR can help you achieve:

• Improved material characterization
• Advanced prototype evaluation
• Long-lasting, reliable products

Simulated Global Climate Testing

Lawrence Tech is enhancing its reputation for cutting-edge research by building an Environmental Test Chamber for testing vehicle components for military and other uses. This latest addition to the CIMR will include an actuator capable of delivering impact blows with up to 150,000 pounds of force on components being tested. The environmental/loading chamber will replicate the impact of both repeated and static loads in simulated climatic conditions ranging from Iraq to Antarctica.

The Environmental Test Chamber will:

• Significantly advance U.S. Army materiel design, testing, evaluation, and durability, and result in the deployment of new high-strength, lower-weight vehicle armor to protect troops and save lives.
• Meet all standards for full- and partial-scale vehicle and composite armor testing under harsh conditions, including salt spray, salt water, solar/UV light, relative humidity, and sand in addition to freezing, thawing, and dry heat.
• No other facility in the United States can provide full-scale environmental condition testing and evaluation to meet Military 310 Global Climatic Data for Developing Military Product for an entire vehicle.