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Instructors of both undergraduate and graduate courses of materials science with a laboratory section employ hands-on sessions to further students' understanding of key materials behavior principles. A typical solid mechanics laboratory session exposes students to topics such as: tensile, torsion, hardness, fatigue, and fracture testing procedures as well as associated properties and the like. Even though observing the different modes of material deformation and rupture response firsthand fosters a better mastery of the course content, limitations in available "face time" with students, course budget, availability of test devices, etc., are obstacles. Integrating software tools that simulate mechanical testing represents an alternative approach that can potentially transform and enhance the students learning outcomes. The identical graphical user interface is used for conducting both virtual and physical testing of materials. The software tools will aid in the classroom, laboratory, and student self-study for the subjects of a material's plastic

An introductory course in vibration engineering naturally begins with the basic "building block" concepts on which a deeper understanding is built. The study of single degree of freedom lumped parameter systems lays the conceptual groundwork needed for studying the behavior of multidegree of freedom or continuous systems. The simplest single degree of freedom vibratory system is of course the pendulum. Pendulum problems illustrate basic vibration theory very nicely, providing a simple and intuitive illustration of the building block concepts: lumped parameter models, simple harmonic motion, natural frequency, damped and undamped systems, free and forced response. Constructing these simple pendulum arrangements in a "testbed" environment and measuring the actual natural frequency provides a useful vehicle for extending theory into actual practice. This paper examines one particular pendulum problem and its implementation and use in a laboratory setting.

Design is an iterative, model-based process in which both analytical and experimental testing play an important role. Research in the area of automating the design process hopes to both reduce the iterative design cycle time and improve the quality of the resulting design. Automating the design process, however, suggests automating the testing process as well. Considering the iterative nature of design, testing plays an important role not only in suggesting improvements in successive design iterations, but also in validating the modeling assumptions and simplifications made during the design process. This paper discusses the role of testing in the design process, and proposes a computational model which can be used to facilitate automation of the mechanical testing process. The proposed computational model represents the materials test in terms of the operational definition of the material property, and attempts to adequately abstract and represent the important elements of an actual system: the applied service conditions, the physical response of the material, and the empirical relationships which exist between the two. Specifically, deterministic finite state machines (DFSM’s) are proposed to represent the process control knowledge necessary in executing a test and controlling the servohydraulic testing system.