Uniaxial tension and compression testing and 3- and 4-point bend testing are utilized to determine common material properties like yield strength, Young's modulus, and ultimate strength.

MCL has a 50 KN MTS Criterion load frame for conducting tension, compression, and flexural experiments.  Load cells range from 10N to 50KN.  The load frame is also equipped with a video extensometer for measuring strain.

50 kN MTS Criterion Load Frame
The 50 kN load frame system at MCL has multiple load cells, multiple fixtures for testing in different stress states, and a video extensometer.

The multiple load cells ranging from 10N to 50KN.

The multiple fixtures to suit your testing requirements:

  • Tension:
    • MTS Advantage Wedge grips 50 kN capacity, with flat+serrated grip faces and vee+serrated grip faces, 25mm wide
    • MTS Bionix Scissors Action grip (1 kN capacity)
    • MTS Bionix Action Vise Grip (5 kN capacity)
    • Low force tension grips for up to 50N
  • Compression: MTS Fundamental Compression platens (50 kN capacity)
  • Flexure: 3- and 4- point bend fixture (30 kN capacity, temperature range
    • lower fixture span: 24 - 152 mm, upper fixture span: 24 - 76 mm
  • Precision flexure fixture, 3 and 4 point bend, 40 and 20mm spans.  ASTM-C1161 configuration B.
  • Equibiaxial Flexural Strength, ASTM C1499


The MTS Advantage Video Extensometer allows for non-contact strain measurements with typical displacement resolutions of 0.13 µm and an image capture frequency ranging from 0.1 to 30 Hz. Minimum measurable strain values are 0.01%. Operation is simple, with a standard pattern required for tracking during mechanical testing.

Sample dimensions

Specimen geometries and dimensions are identified in relevant ASTM standards.  Penn State affiliated students and professors can access these standards through Penn State Library's ASTM database.

Note: The maximum allowable frequency of each of these load frames is 1 Hz. These load frames were not designed for fatigue testing.