Texture Analysis in action: the Kramer Shear Cell

Two versions of the KRAMER SHEAR CELL (HDP/KS10 and HDP/KS5) are available.

The 10-bladed HDP/KS10 must be used with a 50Kg loadcell or greater.

The 5-bladed HDP/KS5 can be used with a 25Kg or 30Kg loadcell for soft products, but a 50Kg loadcell or greater is recommended.

Easy locating adapters ensure fast blade removal for cleaning and replacement or further testing. Cells have perspex front panels for precise positioning of the blades close to the sample, and easy removal for cell cleaning.

The cell is used for analysing multi-particle products such as cereals and pickles in sauce together with fruit and vegetables. This test applies a combination of compression, shearing and extrusion.

*Attachments with code prefix HDP/ must be used in conjunction with HDP/90 Heavy Duty Platform. 
   

Tips and tricks for successful tensile testing

Tensile testing is less commonly used than compression testing, because it is more difficult to grip the sample in such a manner that a tensile load can be applied.  

If the ends of a bar of uniform cross-section are clamped, compression of the ends causes stress concentrations to develop, which promote failure in the vicinity of the clamp.

This problem is usually overcome by making the sample wider in the vicinity of the clamp and ideally the sample will fail at its narrowest point. Therefore stress is calculated from the minimum cross-sectional area (see diagram A).