National Physical Laboratory (NPL) services

Version:0.9 StartHTML:00000198 EndHTML:00000268 StartFragment:00000232 EndFragment:00000232 SourceURL:https://www.npl.co.uk/products-services/advanced-materials/advanced-materials-consultancy

Finite element analysis (FEA) is a modelling tool that is widely used in the design of new products, as well as for investigation of failure in service and lifetime prediction.

NPL offers measurement and consultancy services to support the quality assurance and lifetime management of materials, via our extensive accelerated test instrumentation and expertise.

As the UK’s leading measurement expert, we help companies identify the root causes of product and materials failures faster, enabling them to help improve product safety, manage financial liabilities and avoid reputational damage.

NPL offers measurement and consultancy services via our special to type test rigs and novel/emerging measurement techniques for composites process. NPL are able to provide measurements and advice on physical, thermal and fluid properties across a wide range of temperatures, pressures and materials. These measurements provide the data that industry needs to optimise production processes and develop the new products that are required to address national challenges for instance related to hydrogen and sustainable aviation.

We can give advice and provide the following tests.

NPL’s harsh environments laboratory is a state-of-the-art facility for corrosion testing and electrochemical measurement in the presence of H₂S and other toxic species. It operates at high temperature and high pressure to simulate real world environments. This capability supports industry to evaluate material performance in conditions beyond routine testing, especially conditions that closely resemble those encountered in oil and gas service environments such as deep well extraction.

Manufacturers, customers and suppliers need confidence in the pervasive data they each produce, use and share. Trusted data is required for the design of products, running efficient operations and demonstrating compliance. We ensure that you are equipped with the measurement data foundations, analytics and innovations required to benefit from digital manufacturing.

We offer calibration services for a number of types of angle standards, including autocollimators, polygons, angle gauges and index tables. The basic standards for angle measurement used by NPL depend either on the accurate division of a circle or on the generation of a known angle by means of a precision sine-bar. Several methods are available for dividing a circle but the one employed by NPL for undertaking measurements for the precision engineering industry is based on the accurate meshing of two similar sets of uniformly spaced vee-serrations formed in the top (rotatable) and base (fixed) members of an indexing table.

NPL helps solve complex technical problems using our advanced analytical and problem solving capabilities, combined with multi-disciplinary, world-class facilities. We build long-term working relationships to deliver business advantage and commercial success for our customers. As the UK’s National Measurement Institute, our independence and impartiality means we are the ultimate source of confidence in accurate measurements – to you and your customers. We have the know-how to address high-value problems and inform key customer decisions in a prompt and authoritative way.