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Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering

Impact and explosion facilities

Our labs are equipped with a range of advanced facilities that enable us to model experimental simulations of impact and explosive scenarios.

Drop hammers

We have a range of drop hammers up to impact velocity of 10m/s, impactor mass of 150kg and impact energy of 8kJ.

Explosion containment vessels

Explosion containment vessels up to 30g TNT for spalling/scabbing tests.

High-pressure gas guns

  • Single-stage, high-pressure gas gun facilities (23mm-60mm calibre) for penetration and perforation tests within impact velocity range of 50-500m/s
  • Two-stage light gas gun facility up to 2km/s velocity

Other facilities

  • ESH 200kN servo hydraulic high speed (5m/s) tensile/compressive testing machine
  • Zwick 50kN servo hydraulic high speed (20 m/s) tensile test machine
  • SHPB system for material dynamic property test between 100-5000 1/s strain-rate
  • A range of transient digital data recorders (1MHz-1GHz) and oscilloscopes; multiple channels of strain gauge conditioning units and charge amplifier units; electro optical non-contact displacement transducer system
Male researchers working in labs

Facilities at MECD

Discover how our facilities at MECD will complement and sustain the pioneering engineering developments that are occurring every day at The University of Manchester.