Nanomechanical research laboratory
A facility dedicated to mechanical testing of a wide range of materials, from soft biological cells and tissues to industrial coatings.
The University of Auckland Nanomechanical Research Laboratory specialises in the mechanical testing of a wide range of materials from soft biological cells and tissues through to hard industrial coatings. Properties such as hardness, modulus, scratch and wear resistance at several size scales can be provided in addition to testing in fluid environments.
The laboratory hosts cutting edge equipment in the field of nano and microscale indentation including:
- Hysitron TI-950 TriboIndenter
- MTS XP Nanoindenter
- Activelife Technologies Biodent 1000
Testing of materials can be broadly split into:
- Site specific testing of microstructures
- Realistic biological testing of soft and mineralised tissues
- In-vivo, in-situ and in-vitro mechanical testing of biological specimens
- Thin films, coatings and tribological research
- Nanostructures, nanowires/rods/particles
- Microcompression of micro and nanoparticles
- Hardness, modulus, scratch and wear resistance properties of materials
- Failure forensics, diagnostics and prevention research