Advanced Materials Characterisation & Testing (AMCT) Facility

Learn how our specialists can support you with material testing. We offer low-cycle and high-cycle fatigue testing, fatigue crack growth testing, and fatigue testing of sub-element specimens. Our experience covers a wide range of materials, including metals, composites, and additively manufactured materials.

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FEA fatigue analysis in the HBK Advanced Materials Characterization & Test facility (AMCT)

Expert Support – From Precision Testing to In-Depth Analysis and Material Parameter Development

The AMCT facility serves as your trusted partner for materials characterisation services, with a focus on material durability. Whether you need access to world-leading fatigue expertise, high-quality fatigue data, or support in developing custom testing methodologies, we are here to help you make your job easier and your materials data stronger.

We work with you to gain insights on material performance, including next-generation metals and composites, lightweight structures with advanced jointing techniques, additively manufactured materials, and new surface treatments to extend component service life. The fatigue data we provide can easily be integrated into our CAE software, nCode DesignLife, enabling seamless analysis and faster design decisions.

With estabilished testing services and over 25 years of expertise in fatigue testing, the AMCT facility empowers you to optimise performance with confidence and achieve your durability objectives.

Testing Services

AMCT round strain-life test with extensometer 1

Strain-life and stress-life fatigue

From strain-controlled (E-N) or load-controlled (S-N) fatigue tests to data analysis required to calculate fatigue parameters, HBK performs the testing and characterisation necessary for obtaining accurate fatigue life estimates from FEA and fatigue analyses.

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Fatigue of joints

Whether you are welding, fastening or bonding materials together, HBK offers a range of models to estimate the fatigue life of complex joints. We test, measure, and derive all the parameters you need to obtain accurate fatigue life estimates.

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$AMCT crack growth test with extensometer and fractire gauge$

Fatigue Crack Growth

Fatigue failure is a two-stage process combining crack initiation and growth to failure. HBK offers a range of crack growth models as well as turnkey testing and characterisation services that enable you to accurately estimate crack growth.

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Customer Quote

There is nothing like HBK’s AMCT lab that provides the entire package both in terms of the available testing expertise but also the ability to deliver a materials database that could be used directly and easily in nCode software.

Artur Tarasek, Durability CAE Expert, NIO

FAQ | Answers to your questions about the AMCT

We understand that your requirements are likely to be quite unique, so we tailor our quotations to ensure we meet your needs. We first ask you to fill out a short questionnaire detailing the key technical aspects and then we will have a Teams call with you to go through these requirements and talk you through the solution we would propose, before providing a detailed quotation.

We like to be challenged on what we can test! We have a range of different types and sizes of test rigs, and we can design and manufacture different fixturing solutions to interface with components and sub-element type specimens. We have tested lots of different components and parts in the past, and we will be very happy to discuss your unique testing requirements to see if we can help you get the data you need.

Absolutely. For all our fatigue and fracture testing we will post process the data to fit curves and calculate the parameters needed to use in CAE models. The methods we use are detailed in our test reports along with tables of the parameters, and we provide .xml or .mxd files that can be directly imported into nCode Materials Manager.

We work very closely with a local company that specialises in machining test specimens. We can also design specimens as required for bespoke testing applications.

We have a range of static and dynamic test rigs and can offer tensile testing, lap shear testing, coach peel testing, and 3- and 4-point bending.

The AMCT have recently participated in multiple research projects related to fatigue performance and behaviour of additively manufactured materials. We have also been working with the US Air Force and Select Engineering Services studying the effect of surface treatments on fatigue performance of landing gear metals, and with NIO Performance Engineering on structural hybrid joints as used in electric vehicles. The objective of these projects is to develop fatigue methodologies to ensure our nCode DesignLife software can continue to give accurate predictions for modern advanced materials and processes. We are always interested to discuss new opportunities for collaborative research projects that align with our long-term strategy to continuously develop and improve our fatigue testing and analysis methods.

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Accredited

HBK’s AMCT is an established fatigue testing facility with over 25 years of operational experience and ISO 9001:2015 certification.

Meet the Team

Dr Michelle Hill

Head of Materials Testing

Michelle is an aeronautical engineer with a PhD in composite structures. Formally Chief of Materials at Rolls-Royce, she now leads HBK’s AMCT facility, with over 20 years’ experience, specialising in fatigue research, composite testing and materials qualification.

Dr Andrew Halfpenny

Director of Technology - nCode Products

Andrew is a PhD-qualified expert in structural dynamics with 25 years’ experience in vibration, fatigue, and fracture. Innovator of key industry technologies, patented damage monitoring, and UK helicopter standards; consultant, author, and university guest lecturer.

Dr Alex Chuang

Materials Engineer - Fatigue and Fracture

Alex holds a PhD in aerospace materials with six years of experience in fatigue testing and failure analysis. After working as a research fellow on major industrial projects, he now drives the expansion of HBK’s testing and analysis capabilities.

Dr Cristian Bagni

Senior Technologist of Fatigue and Fracture

Cristian has a structural engineering PhD with aerospace research and advanced manufacturing experience. Senior Technologist in fatigue and fracture at HBK, leading work on joints, composites and crack growth, while supporting AMCT testing and analysis

Rob Plaskitt

Application Engineer – Durability

Rob is an Application Engineer with 30 years’ experience applying nCode durability tools across automotive, aerospace, defence, and power generation, covering concept design to testing and monitoring. Holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Structural Integrity.

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Resources

Technical papers, presentations and other useful resources relevant to the work of the AMCT

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Advanced Materials Characterisation & Testing (AMCT) Facility

Expert Support – From Precision Testing to In-Depth Analysis and Material Parameter Development

Testing Services

Strain-life and stress-life fatigue

Fatigue of joints

Fatigue Crack Growth

Customer Quote