A technician working on an electrodynamic generator (shaker)

Mechanical tests

Test the resistance of your equipment with mechanical tests.

Testing facilities

for all sectors

Sopemea has one of the widest ranges of mechanical testing equipment in Europe: several electrodynamic exciters (also known as vibration pots), centrifuges, hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders, hydraulic power plants, traction machines.
We carry out tests for a wide range of industries: aeronautics, railways, automotive, capital goods and industrial goods.
Thanks to our new design office, we are able to offer you tailored solutions for your sector of activity.
By entrusting your tests to Sopemea, you will benefit from one of the largest laboratories in Europe, and you will be supported by our experienced engineers before, during and after your qualifications.

Testing facilities 

adapted to your products

Mechanical testing assesses the behaviour of equipment in real-life conditions by applying mechanical stresses. Sopemea has all the necessary equipment in its 25,000 m² of laboratories in France and the United Kingdom for your mechanical testing campaigns:

  • Vibration testing - sine, shock, random, seismic
  • Structural testing (mechanical behaviour, structural deformation)
  • Impact
  • Drop
  • Constant acceleration
  • Fatigue or ageing tests
  • Tensile and compression tests
  • Bending and torsion tests
  • Hardness testing
  • Mechanical compliance testing, IK


Easements are available to simulate the tests under operational conditions:

  • Various power ratings available
  • Various electrical loads
  • Pressurised fluids (nitrogen, air, water, Skydrol)
  • Air or water cooling 

Our design office can tailored the necessary equipment to operate during testing.
Whether your equipment needs to be immersed, pressurised or maintained at a certain temperature, our technicians can create a unique and adapted bench.

 

Finally, data acquisition units are available in our mechanical testing laboratories to record several hundred measurement channels of all types of magnitude (accelerations with or without contact, displacements, stresses, forces) as well as recorders for the functional control of equipment (dry contacts, micro cuts, electrical rebounds).

 

 

Vibrations tests

Sopemea offers low and high frequency vibration testing.
We have some of the most extensive testing facilities in Europe, enabling us to carry out your vibration tests on equipment of all sizes, from a few kilos to several tonnes.

We can also carry out combined tests (vibration and temperature) and mixed tests (sine and noise for example).


Visit our page dedicated to vibration testing.

Acceleration 
tests

A centrifuge seen from the inside
A centrifuge seen from the inside
These tests are carried out with a centrifuge, which performance reaches accelerations of several tens of g on material weighing several tens of kilos.
A rotating manifold with a hundred or so channels allows these tests to be carried out on the equipment in operation.f specific tests (test benches, customisation of tests...).

Structural 

tests

On the left, the structural test sensors. On the right, the equipment under test.
On the left, the structural test sensors. On the right, the equipment under test.

Sopemea's teams have a 32-channel control system that can carry out several structural tests simultaneously.

A full range of hydraulic cylinders covers a wide range of forces (up to 1000 KN) and displacements (up to 500 mm). Some tests, at much lower force levels, are offered with PLC-controlled pneumatic cylinders.
Sopemea is also equipped with hydraulic power units to achieve high flow rates and to perform static (tension, compression, bending) and dynamic (endurance, stiffness, fatigue cycling) structural tests. These tests can be carried out in controlled climatic conditions (hot, cold, wet, etc.) 


Thanks to our stereocorrelation analysis facilities, we can provide you with additional and more detailed expertise on the behaviour of your materials during your structural tests. You will be able to observe with great precision the deformations of your materials. 

 

These types of tests are carried out on large-scale slotted plates with combinable modular elements. The modular test benches are defined and designed by our design and calculation office, using SolidWorks and ANSYS software.

We can also provide you with our expertise for specific tests (test bench, test procedures).

An individual ticks boxes, the Cofrac logo is highlighted
Successful extension of our COFRAC accreditations
All Sopemea laboratories are accredited by COFRAC (France) or UKAS (UK) according to the ISO 17025 standard, which meets the "general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories" for environmental testing, in accordance with their scope of accreditation (scope available on www.cofrac.fr or www.ukas.com).
See more
Triaxiale table
Sopemea equips its lab with a triaxial vibration table
Sopemea wins nuclear sector investment support fund for its project to acquire a triaxial seismic test table
See more
inside a climate chamber
Climatic tests

Our climatic test laboratories create extreme conditions to test the resistance of your equipment through tests (humidity tests, cold tests, mould tests...) before they are launched on the market.

See more

Choosing

Sopemea

one

A COMPLETE SERVICE OFFER ADAPTED TO YOUR NEEDS

Ongoing multidisciplinary R&D expertise. The possibility of carrying out your test campaigns and responding to your problems of numerical simulations and expert measurements.
two

MORE THAN 75 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

Technical competence and regulatory knowledge of each of our clients' sectors of activity. COFRAC accreditation for our laboratories in France, UKAS in the UK.
three

A LOCAL NETWORK

A wide range of test facilities and calculation centres to advise you from the early stages of your project to the completion of your tests.

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