Institut Charles Sadron Plateformes


The Micro and Nano Mechanics platform gives access, for academic and industrial collaborations, innovative techniques of the ICS developed to study surface properties of polymers with a in-situ vision.

The hole equipment allow to probe the matter with various speeds, temperatures and relative humidities ; and to work at various scales from a few nanometers to the millimeter scale. The platform possesses also volumic properties characterization assays and an instrumented X-Ray tomograph for >em>in-situ>/em> mechanical assays (compression and indentation).


Surface properties characterization


1. Instrumented scratch test apparatus


This instrument is dedicated to mechanical properties measures of solid polymer surfaces by in-situ vision.

Main functions:

  • Scratch tests
  • Indentation tests (creep and recovery of the contact)
  • Scratch fatigue tests

Main characteristics:

  • In-situ vision of the contact between indenter and surface during tests.
  • Temperature : -50 to 110°C and controlled hygrometry.
  • Scratch sliding speed : 1um/s to 10mm/s.
  • Normal load from 0.1 to 25N and different indenter geometries (1MPa to 1GPa contact pressure).
  • Indenter (spherical, conical, pyramidal, …) of curvature rays comprised between 10µm and 25mm.

Complementary equipment:

  • Laser interferometry to follow the evolution of imprint recovery.

Link to the page of the instrument

2. NanoIndenteur – NanoScratch

Instrument dedicated to the measurement of mechanical properties of surfaces by nano indentation and nano scratch.

Main characteristics:

  • Normal load from 0.05mN until 100mN.
  • Penetration depth until 50 µm.
  • Environmental chamber (control of temperatures, humidity, pressure) and test plate with controllable temperature.
  • Contact area measurements by in-situ vision.

Complementary equipment:

  • Nanoscratch: measurable force range from 0,05mN to 1N and scratch speed from 0.1µm/s to 10mm/s.
  • Optical microscopy.
  • AFM: cartography of 40µm x 40 µm and Z of 4µm.

Link to the page of the instrument

3. High load tribometer


Instrument dedicated to the measure of mechanical properties of non-transparent surfaces.

Main functions:

  • Scratch tests.
  • Indentation tests (creep-coverage of contact).
  • Fatigue tests in scratch.

Main characteristics:

  • Imaging system for in-situ vision of contact and for footprint coverage follow-up.
  • Thermic chamber (Tests temperatures between 5°C and 60°C and controlled humidity).
  • Displacement speed in scratch: 1µm/s  10mm/s.
  • Normal load from 0.05 to 25N.
  • Indentor (spherical, conical, pyramidal, …) of curvature radius comprised between 10µm and 25mm

Complementary equipment:

  • Rotating module for high speed tests (6m/s) ;
  • Interferometric microscope for surfaces observation.
Link to the page of the instrument

4. JKR Dynamique


Instrument allowing the investigation of contact (adhesion, surface energy) bewteen a soft and a rigid matter or between two soft matters.

Main characteristics:

  • Temperature control (betweenn -40°C and 110°C) and of humidity.
  • Normal load comprised between 0.05N and 10N.
  • Frequency from 0.02Hz to 20Hz.
  • In-situ vision of the contact.
Link to the page of the instrument

Volumetric properties characterizations


1. X-Ray tomograph


Observation and analysis of micro structure of samples.

Main characteristics:

  • Resolution between 0.4µm and 100µm.
  • 2 sources:
    • 50 - 150kV
    • 40 - 160kV
  • 2 imagers:
    • Flat panel
    • CCD

Complementary equipment:

  • Compression/traction module with temperature control.
  • Indentation module.
  • Humidity control cell
Link to the page of the instrument

2. Instrumented traction device


Traction, compression, shearing, flexion and DMA tests.

Main characteristics:

  • Applicable force until 10 kN.
  • Thermal chamber (temperature from -80°C to 200°C).

Complementary equipment:

  • Imagery system allowing image correlation.

Link to the page of the instrument

3. Dynamic traction appartus (INSTRON ElectroPlus E3000)


Traction, compression and DMA tests.

Main characteristics:

  • Force sensors of 10N, 100N and 1kN.
  • Thermal chamber (temperature from -80°C to 200°C)

Complementary equipment:

  • Extensometer video
Link to the page of the instrument

4. DMA Mettler Toledo


Complex elasticity module depending on the temperature and the traction, compression, shearing and flexion frequency.

Main characteristics:

  • Solicitation frequency comprised between 0.001 and 100Hz
  • Applicable force from 0.01mN to 10N
  • Maximal displacement of the traverse of 1 mm.
  • Thermal chamber (temperature between -170°C and 160°C)
  • Hygrometric chamber (rH% between 0 and 80% for a temperature range between 5 to 80°C)
Link to the page of the instrument




Download the PDF version of the brochure by clicking here