COMTES FHT Inc. is a research organization mainly dealing with research on metallic materials. The company consists of four research departments: department of computer simulation, department of metallurgy and heat treatment, department of materials analysis, and department of mechanical testing and thermos-physical measurements. TURBO-RFELEX will be mainly resolved by the department of mechanical testing. The department consist of three groups, i.e. the mechanical testing group, the thermo-physical measurement group, and the workshop group. The mechanical testing laboratory is capable for providing a loading capacity range from 2kN up to 1MN and possible loading velocities from quasi-static up to dynamic 25m/s. Tests can be performed in a wide temperature range from liquid nitrogen up to melting temperature for most technical alloys. Considered low cycle tests within the project can be performed on several systems in stress or strain control mode at room as well as at elevated temperatures.

Role in the project

COMTES will test the mechanical properties of materials used in steam turbine design, including fatigue tests at elevated temperatures within T3.3. COMTES will use the material specimens developed, and represent the loading conditions as defined, which will be exposed at elevated temperatures and the crack propagation rates per loading cycle will be recorded. Due to the nature of thermal stress, it is expected that most or all tests will be driven by strain rather than by nominal stress amplitude.