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Laboratory
The physical-technical laboratory of GKD: Services in and around metallic mesh and associated components
The physical-technical laboratory of GKD – Gebr. Kufferath AG offers services in and around metallic mesh and associated components. All business segments in the GKD Group and its customers benefit from the laboratory’s material and testing expertise, as well as the experience of professional partners from the fields of testing technology and science. Alongside physical and chemical tests, the professional testing personnel also use the latest equipment to perform a large number of product-related tests. In this vein, the key focus of the laboratory is always on using application-oriented equipment to generate customer benefits. With our laboratory, we support the lifecycle of our products from start to finish with the objective of continually and reproducibly improving on our already high product quality and thereby keeping our customers satisfied in the long term. To this end, we perform the following services in our laboratory:
- Product developments
- Initial sample testing
- Damage inspections
- Testing/investigations following complaints
- Customer-specific tests
- Quality assurance during the production process
Mechanical and physical testing
Mechanical testing is the first step for initial product ideas on the road to the ultimate application. Calculated values alone cannot provide an accurate overview of how materials and products behave in practice. With our mechanical tests, we therefore provide you with real-world data which ensures that your products actually meet the specifications and comply with all requisite regulations and quality standards.
- Tensile test up to 50 kN (and hysteresis) on metallic materials at room temperature pursuant to DIN EN 10002-1 / DIN EN ISO 6892/ DIN EN ISO 13934-1 / DIN EN ISO 13935-1
- Tensile test in a climatic chamber at up to +250°C
- Tensile test (including hysteresis test) pursuant to DIN EN ISO 13934-1 / DIN EN ISO 13935-1
- Erichsen cupping test pursuant to DIN EN ISO 20482
- Microhardness test
- Friction test based on ISO 8295
- Dynamic fatigue test (Wöhler fatigue test) pursuant to DIN 50100
- Determining the chemical composition of various metals through elemental analysis using X-ray fluorescence (XRF)
Chemical tests
The products you use are subjected to increasingly demanding operating and environmental conditions, as well as a high risk of corrosion due to the associated chemical loads. Corrosion can lead to structural damage or costly repairs, loss or contamination of products, as well as environmental damage. Our chemical testing processes are predominantly based on salt spray tests, focusing on your critical fields of application and thereby providing you with the confidence you require.
- Corrosion testing using salt spray tests pursuant to ASTM B117, DIN EN ISO 9227,Strauss test
In addition to this, continuous use of our elemental analysis measuring equipment during manufacturing forms the basis for proven and secure use of preselected materials.
Mesh testing
We check and compare all kinds of meshes in their structure and design and can therefore define differences or similarities among the respective products through tolerances and adjusted testing intervals. Comparative material testing of this kind allows the quality of our meshes to be optimized for all applications requiring a consistent quality standard.
- Apertures pursuant to DIN ISO 3310 and DIN ISO 9044
- Manual and automatic mesh determination (e.g. pursuant to DIN ISO 9044)
- Open area
- Determining the mesh thickness
- Determining the weight per unit area
- Porosity
- Water permeability of meshes pursuant to DIN EN ISO 11058
- Filtration media resistance in pocket filter/Nutsche filter
- Air permeability of meshes pursuant to DIN EN ISO 9237
- Surface coarseness of wires
- Springback angle
- Mesh repositioning capacity
Tests from the field of filtration
With knowledge from countless applications, GKD also supports you in performing specific tests in the field of filtration. Standardized testing procedures on the basis of normative directives guarantee a high degree of quality assurance for existing products, while also providing valuable support in improving existing products and developing new products.
- Bubble points and pore size distribution using a capillary flow porometer based on ASTM D6767, ASTM F316-03, ISO 2942 and ISO 4003
- Glass bead testing, pursuant (among others) to ISO 17824 / API 19SS
- Retention rate of a filter pursuant to ISO 13319
- “Cut point” as per Whitehouse Scientific
Further tests and calculations
If a product or one of its components has failed, the reason for the failure must be clarified and suitable measures introduced to prevent future failures. With our tests in the field of fault and damage analysis, we support you in identifying the cause, localizing responsibilities and specifying suitable corrective actions.
- Surface testing / surface defect testing using digital microscopy (2D, 3D)
- Component cleanliness testing pursuant to VDA 19
- Specific characteristic acoustic impedance (Rayl value)
- Electrical resistance
- Free shrinkage / shrinkage distance / shrinkage force up to max. 250°C
- Grain size determination pursuant to DIN EN ISO 643
- Estimated pressure loss pursuant to AVIF A224 formula
The mechanical properties of metal meshes used by GKD and their attachments are regularly tested to validated test specifications. This allows GKD to determine the load capacity of mesh designs and, where necessary, perform investigations to gain specific approval in individual cases. In cooperation with partners, we can also perform static calculations of tensioned metallic mesh constructions
