Tensile Testing
Tensile Testing
Advanced Tensile & Mechanical Testing at PEM
PEM offers one of Ireland’s most capable and comprehensive tensile and mechanical testing environments, enabling industry to evaluate material strength, durability, deformation behaviour, and long‑term performance with exceptional accuracy.
Our tensile‑testing suite is anchored by the LaborTech 6.600.1.00 600kN electromechanical testing system, capable of performing high‑load tensile, compression, flexure, shear, peel, tear, cyclic, and bend tests across a broad range of metals, composites, polymers, structural materials, and large‑format components.
Equipped with an x‑sight non‑contact video extensometer, the system captures high‑precision strain and deformation data while eliminating slippage, grip errors, or measurement inaccuracies, crucial for supporting high‑reliability sectors such as aerospace, automotive, marine, agricultural machinery, construction, and heavy equipment manufacturing.
Beyond standalone tensile testing, PEM integrates a full spectrum of advanced materials‑characterisation, metrology, microscopy, and manufacturing capabilities to deliver deeper insights, more accurate interpretation, and a more complete understanding of material behaviour.
Materials & Mechanical Testing Suite
PEM complements tensile testing with a vast range of interconnected materials‑testing technologies, including:
- High‑force, low‑force, and micro‑tensile systems to support everything from heavy‑industrial components to micro‑medical devices.
- Hardness testing (Vickers, Knoop, Rockwell, Brinell) for assessing surface integrity, case hardening effects, and wear behaviour.
- Rheometry and thermal analysis (DSC, rheometer, FT‑IR) to characterise viscoelasticity, thermal transitions, chemical composition, and structural changes before or after tensile loading.
- Gas pycnometry to measure true density and identify porosity or material inconsistencies influencing mechanical strength.
These complementary methods allow PEM to provide a full lifecycle analysis of how materials behave under load, during fatigue, at elevated temperatures, or when exposed to harsh service environments.

