Wind Tunnel Mechanical Testing Facility

Chaikin, Pine, and Thompson combine their capabilities to create a benchtop “wind tunnel” mechanical testing facility where the mechanical properties of colloidal, composite, and mineralized model systems can be measured and their scaling relationships elucidated, with the aim of developing design principles for optimizing structures. This facility enables real-time visualization of deformations as stresses are applied, fractures propagate, and materials yield. The wind tunnel facility builds on the suite of mechanical testing equipment located in the Biomaterials and Biomimetics Equipment Facility, which currently is operated as an open user facility with five full time staff researchers. The facility houses (i) a four electrodynamic mouth motion fatigue systems (Enduratec ELF-3300 – 2000 N, 2 biaxial and 2 unaxial); (ii) universal testing machine (Instron 5566 with 8000-N capability); (iii) an R-ratio uniaxial fatigue testing machine (Electro Dynamic 1,Test Resources); (iv) a universal tester (Romulus IV with hardness, shear, and break point modules); (v) a low-load uniaxial testing machine (Chatillon M3200 with micotensile fixtures), (vi) a wear tester (Sabri Oral Wear Simulation system); (vii) hardness tester (Buehler with Vickers and Knoop diamonds); and (viii) a profilometer (Mitotoyu). The Biomaterials and Biomimetics Equipment Facility also houses (i) two environmental scanning electron microscopes (Hitachi 3500N, Zeiss EV- 50), each with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (PGT IMIX) and backscatter electron imaging detectors for elemental composition and atomic density analyses; (ii) two sputter coaters (EMITECH, ISI); (iii) for X-ray imaging and x-ray diffraction, a microcomputer-aided tomography system (Skyscan 40), Faxitron x-ray machine for high-resolution planar images, and an X-ray diffraction system (Philips APD3520); (iv) for optical microscopy, a confocal microscope (Technical Instruments K2S-BIO), a portable confocal microscope (modified Technical Instruments K2S-BIO), two 3D microscopes (Edge R400 and H160 Real-Time), two fully automated compound microscopes (Leica-Leitz DMRX/E, Zeiss Photomicroscope I), both with contrast enhancements and fluorescence), a 3-D digitizer (Mitutoyo Video-Based), and state-of-the-art image analysis software, (v) for materials characterization, a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (Nicolet 550, with IR-Plan microscope), a Hg intrusion porosity measuring system (Micromeretics Autopor 9200), a specific surface and porosity measuring system (Micromeretics Flowsorb II 2300), a thermogravimetric system (Perkin-Elmer TGS2).

The merger of NYU and Polytechnic expands the facilities available to MRSEC investigators, providing access to various optical and fluorescence microscopes, variable temperature spectrofluorimeters, liposome extruders, gamma radiation counters, stations for handling radionuclides, dynamic light scattering, a Malvern Zetasizer ZS90, two CH Instruments 660C potentiostats, a CH Instruments 760C potentiostat, temperature-controlled rotating disk electrode apparatus, CH Instruments 440A electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance, Cary 50 UV-Vis spectrometer with standard and Peltier temperature-controlled cuvette holders, Beckman Coulter SYS Gold Bioessential 125/168 HPLC, Perkin Elmer Spectrum 100 infrared spectrometer with grazing incidence and ATR attachments, JASCO J-815 circular dichroism spectropolarimeter, UVISEL spectroscopic ellipsometer, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer (Bruker Omniflex), NMR spectrometer (Bruker Ultrashield 300), Digital Instruments Multimode SPM Atomic Force Microscope with an EV scanner and Nanoscope IIIa controller, an Olympus 1X70 Fluorescence Microscope, and a Hitachi Scientific Instruments Scanning Electron Microscope with EDAX Phoenix X-ray detector, a Phillips wide angle X-ray (WAX) Diffractometer, a SEC-MALLS-viscometer Waters HPLC systems with fraction collectors, an HPLC-FTIR, a Nicolet AVATAR FTIR, HP5890 II GC with Flame ionization detection (FID), a GC-MS, a Dynamic Light Scattering Coulter N4 Plus Submicron Particle Sizer, a Waters LC-MS with ZQ 2000 on-line Mass Detector, a Speed vac and lyophilizer, a Thermogravimetric Analysis Instrument, a Capillary Rheometer, an Instron 4465 tensile tester and a Bruker Daltonics Omniflex MALDI-TOF. The facilities also include a Spectramax microplate reader, a Chemidoc gel and plate visualization system, an Amersham UMAX-UTA-III transmission scanner and Imagemaster, a Biorad RT-quantitative PCR, a Gel Drier, a Perkin Elmer LS 50B Luminescence spectrophotometer, a sonicator, TA Instruments Modulated and Perkin-Elmer Differential Scanning Calorimeter and densitometry instrumentation.