Element invests in aerospace, defense and space testing at Jupiter, Florida laboratory

LONDON, UK – October 20, 2020 – Element Materials Technology (Element) has increased its aerospace testing capabilities with significant investments of more than $1million in pneumatics, dynamics, projectile impact and hot fuel testing at its Jupiter, Florida laboratory.

These investments provide customers with faster turnaround times, greater efficiency, and the ability to accommodate a larger and more diverse range of test samples and test conditions to allow for more highly technical analysis.

The recent procurement of a high-capacity, 400-horsepower electric compressor expands the boundaries of Element’s current pneumatics testing offering, providing a more extreme range of temperature, flow and pressure for its test programs. Tests such as bleed air simulation; leakage and pressure drop; and design for life endurance, can be applied at the component system level. In the aerospace sector, this includes environmental control systems, heat exchangers, and bleed air components, while in renewables it supports the development of more efficient turbine engines.

The laboratory’s acquisition of a 44,000 pound-force electrodynamic shaker is the largest in Element’s fleet of shakers worldwide. Its size accommodates bigger and heavier loads, including whole rocket engines or entire aircraft cabin systems, and a combined thermal and dynamics environment can be achieved on this system using a specially designed, adjustable environmental chamber. This, coupled with a three-inch displacement capability, can accommodate most current engine windmilling, fan blade off, and tire burst testing requirements. Reaching beyond aerospace, the shaker can be utilized for testing products from other sectors, including transportation, oil & gas, and medical.

In addition, two new hot fuel cells have been added to the laboratory. These cells allow testing of fuel components or systems at high temperature and high pressure, utilizing state of the art safety and a new projectile impact pneumatic canon has been procured as well. This canon can be used to shoot a variety of items, including birds (simulated and real) of 1.5 to 8 pounds; hail (simulated and real) of 0.5 to 2.75 inch diameter; gravel and stone; drones; and metal fragments. Most recently, this facility was used for testing ballistic material that lines a large commercial turbine engine.

Rick Sluiters, EVP Americas at Element, said: “The Jupiter laboratory is a center of excellence for highly engineered testing, including hydraulic and pneumatic test simulation, and is a critical service-and-solution provider for aerospace, defense, nuclear and other industries, both locally and worldwide. These investments are part of a larger plan to grow the laboratory’s offering, which ranges from providing increased capacity and more technical services, to moving some facilities indoors for customer comfort and improving infrastructure to reduce customer set-up costs”

About Element

The Element Materials Technology Group is one of the world’s leading global providers of testing, inspection and certification services for a diverse range of materials, products and technologies in advanced industrial supply chains where failure is not an option. Headquartered in London, UK, Element’s team of more than 6,000 expert scientists, engineers and technicians operate from around 200 locations across five continents, delivering an extensive range of solutions to customers in critical industries including aerospace, connected technologies, construction, defense, energy, environmental, life sciences and transportation.

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Media contacts:

Diana Milford, External Communications Manager
T: +44 (0) 131 333 8052
E:diana.milford@element.com

Devan LaBrash, Pagoda Public Relations
T: +44 (0) 131 556 0770
E:devan.labrash@pagodapr.com