A detailed test manual for Instron 5500 machine for tensile and compression tests.

1. INSTRON 5500 TEST MANUAL
Material Degradation Characterization Laboratory
JULY 29, 2017
AHMED S. ELBERMBALI LEONARDO ARAQUE
Undergraduate Research Student PhD Student
s- ahmed.ewida@zewailcity.edu.eg leonardo.araque.a@gmail.com

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Experimental Procedure for INSTRON 5500 Machine
1. Turn on the machine by pressing the switch button in the back
of the machine (fig.1)
2. Turn on the PC and open Merlin software on the Desktop. Once the program is opened,
click on “SERVCAL” (fig.2)
3. A screen like the one in
(fig.3) will appear.
Figure 3 Merlin Interface
Figure 1 Power Switch
Figure 2 Merlin Software

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4. Given the nature of the material you are
testing, identify which load cell you are
going to use (50N or 2kN) (fig.4)
5. Check which load cell is plugged into the machine.
- If it is the one you need, skip steps (6-8).
- If it is not the one you need, make sure the upper
load cell is not touching the bottom clamps. If it is
touching, use the “JOG UP” and “JOG DOWN”
button on the control board of the machine to
move the load cell up and take it off using the hex
key.
6. Attach the new load cell to the machine with the screw
using the hex key(fig.6)
Figure 4 Load cells (2kN on the lift and 50N on the right)
Figure 6 Load cell attached to the machine
Figure 5 Control Board

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7. Plug the load cell into the transducer load of the tensile machine. Now, you have the load
cell connected (fig.7)
8. Calibrate the load frame before installing the
load cell.
9. Attach the clamp to the load cell using the pin
and make sure the two clamps are perfectly aligned with each other.
Figure 9 Upper clamp and pin
Figure 10 Clamp attached to the load cell
Figure 7 Handle and the load plug
Figure 8 Calibration of the load

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10. Set the default units you want to use throughout your test.
11. Set the variables that you want to control during the test
(fig. 10)
12. Measure the cross-sectional dimension of the specimen using a CALIPER (width,
length, and thickness) and write them all down.
Figure 11 Caliber
Figure 9 Setting test unit
Figure 10 Add and view displays

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13. Select “Sample Parameters” from the menu on the right-hand side of the screen, then
select “Specimen” to input cross sectional dimensions of the specimen(fig.12)
14. Set your zero for the experiment using the “JOG UP” and “JOG DOWN” button on the
control board of the machine to adjust the top load cell so that it barely touches the
bottom cell. Make sure you use the “FINE ADJUSTMENT” button to better control the
top cell when it is close to the lower one to avoid blocking the cell movement. Record the
force displayed at zero extension (to be used later.)
Figure 12 Select Parameters Icon
Figure 13 Control Unit and Alignment of the cells
Figure 14 Load Reset Button

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15. Mark the center line of the specimen so that you can use it to center the specimen
between the top and bottom clamps(fig.15). Also mark the center of the clamps so that
you can align them with the centerline of the specimen.
16. Place the specimen in the load frame. Make sure the
specimen is clamped at the center line marked by two small
marks on the top and bottom load cells, and adjust the
specimen so it is straight as shown in (fig.16)
17. Move the top cell so that the load indicated on the screen is
just almost the same as the reference load at the zero
extension you recorded in step 11 (zero-gauge length.)
18. Tight the clippers on the four load cells very well, otherwise the specimen will slip
during the test and that will lead to inaccurate results.
Figure 15 Alignment Lines
Figure 16 Specimen fixation

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19. Record the gauge length from the “Extension” display. This should be the same as the
gauge length of the specimen.
20. Zero out the force from the “Load” display by selecting
the second button of “Transducer Icon” then click
“Balance” to zero out the force.
21. Zero out the gauge length………
22. Click “Limits” to set the maximum and minimum limits of the applied force to 1.9kN
and -1.9kN respectively and make sure to enable both limits by clicking “Enabled”. Click
“Done” to return to the main screen.
Figure 17 Load control button
Figure 18 Load Limits

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23. Make sure the applied force is in the right direction by selecting “UP” for tensile test or
“DOWN” for compression test.
24. Start the test by running the program. The test will stop automatically
at around 1900 N or -1900 N, depending on the direction of the force
as we inserted limits for the applied force before running the test.
25. After the program has been executed, a graph window will appear as “Stress vs. Strain”
with x-axis as Strain [Exten.] (mm/mm) and y-axis as Stress (MPa). You can view the
curve by pressing on the “Graph” button on the menu at the right side of the screen.
26. Save the experiment data by doing the following: File > Data > End & Save. To get the
excel data afterwards, open the C/ folder on the PC > Open Merit > User > Data. And
only copy your data for your calculations.
Figure 19 Test Direction Control
Figure 20 Run Test

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27. Now, connect the extensometer to the machine through the strain plug to get the values
of the strain.
28. You will notice that the strain display is now activated and that’s where you read the
values of the strain.
29. Attach the extensometer to the specimen using the
rubber bands as shown in (fig.22)
30. Repeat steps 14-24 again and record the value of the
strain from the display.
Figure 21 Extensometer
Figure 22 Extensometer fixation

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31. From the displayed values of the stress and strain, you can calculate the Young’s
Modulus of the material.
32. To run another test, you can just need to:
a. Unload the force applied on the specimen
b. Release the specimen
b. Disable the limits of the load force by unchecking the “Enabled” button in the limits
window mentioned in step 21
c. Balance the load again.
33. End and save the data again. Then exit the merit software: File > Exit