Use of digital image correlation to determine the mechanical behavior of materials

Digital image correlation was used to study the mechanical behavior of three materials: commercial aluminum, bovine pericardium and Cu–Al 11.2 wt.%–Be 0.6 wt.% shape memory alloy. These materials were subjected to simple tension test using an MTS load frame with an attached optical microscope. Displacement, force, strain data and digital images of the sample's surface were acquired. Data and images were post-processed in order to measure displacement vector fields for each material. Local and global strain measurements were calculated hence the young modulus was obtained for each material. The elastic moduli were 60 GPa for aluminum, 160 MPa for bovine pericardium and 110 GPa for the CuAlBe austenitic phase and 27 GPa for the mixture of austenite and martensitic phases.