The Impact Research Laboratory has unique research capabilities that enable broad academic or industrial collaborations. An overview of our experimental facilities is provided below. For inquiries relating to the use of this equipment or potential research collaborations, please contact oren.petel@carleton.ca. A schedule of facility maintenance and user fees can be found here: User fees
High-speed X-ray Fluoroscopy and X-ray CT
Our research lab is equipped with a cutting-edge cineradiography capability that is being used in research into impact-related injuries, including concussion, for the purposes of injury prevention. The X-ray system, designed at Carleton University is one of the fastest in the world, able to image continuously at frame rates of up to 100,000 fps. The focus of our work is the dynamic response of materials, equipment, and biological tissues. Our lab spaces have biohazard certification and may be used for studies on animal and post-mortem human tissues. The x-ray system can be operated in CT mode to generate a high-resolution static CT scan of objects.
Linear Impact Facility
This facility houses a linear impactor that was purchased from Cadex Inc. Our standard ram is 13kg with a variety of impactor plates. The linear impactor can be coupled to the x-ray fluoroscope to obtain high-resolution dynamic x-ray images of the impact events.
Large Bore Single-Stage Gas Gun Facility
Our research lab is equipped with a 68-mm internal bore single-stage gas gun. This facility is primarily used for plate impact studies that are dedicated to studying materials of interest for armour applications. This gas guns can accelerate projectiles up to velocities of 800 m/s. The facility has a full-suite of diagnostics, enabling in situ laser velocimetry, manganin stress gauge, and time of arrival measurements.
