Special test benches

Determination of the coefficients of friction

Our laboratory has just installed a system for measuring the coefficient of friction to meet the international standard ISO 8295.

Heat-regulated chamber for mechanicals tests

Our testing laboratory has just acquired a heat-regulated chamber for a universal testing machine.

Straw huts coverage elements in sagne from the Camargue

Our R&D division is currently developing a range of covering elements for huts in "sagnes" of the Camargue.

The sagne is planted reed that grows naturally in the Camargue marshes. Its harvest takes place as from December. It is carried out when the sheet reed falls and its stem changes color (from yellow to green).

The cutting is done mechanically. The chopped sheaves are cleaned by machine. This step eliminates the courtillon (too short reed to be used). The bales of reed are 60 cm in circumference.

At the time of the establishment of straw huts, reed bales are freed from their bonds. The manufacture of straw huts is currently a long and expensive step.

Therefore the company Perret Groupe, based in St Gilles (Gard, South of France), contacted us to help them developing a solution for mounting the huts faster.

Documentary about the company Perret Groupe (french TV)

The study, funded by the Languedoc Roussillon region, consisted in the development of "tiles" flexible enough to be bent at the time of installation and weather-resistant (wind, rain, etc). The main issue has concerned the selection of the binder and the manufacturing method of the tile, the latter needing to be easily integrated into production and industrially.

Conference on plant fibers

On September 25, Matériau Ingénierie participated in the meeting of the working group "eco-materials" jointly organized by learned societies AMAC (Association for Composite Materials) and MECAMAT (Mechanics of Materials).

The topic of this day, which was held at LIMAT B (Materials Engineering Laboratory of Brittany) of the University of Southern Brittany in Lorient, was the mechanical characterization of individual fibers, with emphasis on exchange of researchers recognized knowledge on the field of plant fibers for use in the field of composite materials.

Matériau Ingénierie presented as part of its research and development activities an instrumented torsion bench for single fiber (see previous article), original test method to characterize the shear behavior of plant fibers, currently understudied behavior.

This day allowed us to network with experts in the field on the specificities of plant fibers and has been very instructive.

Matériau Ingénierie wished to thank the organizers for their invitation and their welcome.

Monitoring the biodegradation by luminescence

The development of biopolymers is accompanied by a growing interest in biodegradation tests. Indeed, the use of biomaterials systematically generates concerns about the sustainability of such materials. Attempts have therefore been developed to characterize the kinetics of (bio)polymer degradation. The main standards currently available focus on the monitoring of microbial attack through the O₂ consumption, the CO₂ release or just the loss of mass.

These tests have two main disadvantages:

•        Poor reproducibility (especially between laboratories). This feature is mainly due to a variability in the source microorganisms, from one site to another or from a time of year to another;
•         A relatively long testing time, ranging from several days to several months.

Hence Matériau Ingénierie, in collaboration with the Yelen, has developed a rapid and reproducible method for tracking the degradation.

The full article of the study of the degradation of PLA by Luminotech is available here.