Universal Testing Machine (UTM)+ABI®

A Complete Mechanical Testing Lab - In One Machine

Download the full UTM+ABI® brochure.

Download the Nuclear Package UTM+ABI® brochure.

The UTM+ABI® Test System from ABI Services delivers performance and versatility superior to any other metals testing systems on the market today. Capable of both non-destructive mechanical testing using the Automated Ball Indentation® (ABI®) test method as well as conventional destructive mechanical testing, the UTM+ABI® Test System is one of a kind. This easy to operate, low maintenance test system is designed by professionals for professionals and is the culmination of ABI Services’ commitment to excellence in design and performance. The UTM+ABI® Test System is in a class of its own.

Automated Ball Indentation (ABI) is a mechanical test method based on progressive indentation with intermediate partial unloadings until the required maximum depth (maximum strain) is reached. During the ABI test, a spherical indenter is driven into the sample or component surface at a desired speed which controls the strain rate of the test, and the indentation force versus penetration depth are continuously collected during the entire fully computerized test. The nonlinear spherical geometry of the indenter allows increasing strain as the indentation penetration depth is increased. Hence, the incremental values of load and plastic depth are converted to incremental values of true-stress and true-plastic-strain values according to established elasticity and plasticity theories. The ABI test is particularly useful where a life extension evaluation is planned for a component and adequate materials property data are not available. Also, it can be used to measure properties for materials that may have service damage that has caused a change in tensile and fracture toughness properties during service life (e.g. neutron embrittlement of nuclear pressure vessels).

KEY MECHANICAL PROPERTIES FROM ABI®

  • Yield strength

  • True-stress/true-plastic-strain curve

  • Strain-hardening exponent (n)

  • Strength coefficient (k)

  • Uniform ductility

  • Ultimate strength

  • Fracture toughness of ferritic steels using the Haggag Toughness Method (HTM)

BENEFITS OF ABI®

  • Alternative solution to destructive testing

  • Small amount of material needed

  • Multiple tests can be performed on the broken halves of Charpy V-notch and fracture toughness specimens

  • Can produce a Master Curve on the broken halves of Charpy specimens in just a few hours

  • The only test that provides accurate stress-strain curves on welds and their heat-affected- zones.

  • Overlay for instant comparison of mechanical properties

  • Extend the life of a pressure vessel without needing new specimens