LTI Hires Senior Fracture Mechanics Manager

Laboratory Testing Inc. (LTI; Hatfield, PA) announced that Dr. Matthew A. Adler of Hatfield has joined them as their senior fracture mechanics manager. In this role, he oversees their Fracture Mechanics Lab and Fracture Technology Associates (FTA), including FTA fracture mechanics test systems and software. The Lab predominantly performs Fatigue Crack Growth Testing and Fracture Toughness Testing to ASTM and other recognized test specifications. FTA software includes two primary applications for performing mechanical tests: Fatigue Crack Growth Rate (FCGR) and Non-Linear Fracture Toughness (NLFT).

Dr. Adler has over a decade of hands-on experience in experimental fatigue and fracture using FTA software-controlled systems. He is a graduate of Lehigh University, where he earned BS, MS and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering. He was a graduate research assistant in the university’s fracture mechanics Sinclair Laboratory in the Mechanical Engineering Department, where he used FTA test systems to study variable amplitude fatigue crack growth and aging aircraft as part of damage prognosis systems.

His professional career includes nearly eight years of employment in the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) program in Huntsville, AL. Most recently, Dr. Adler was with the program as an employee of Jacobs Technology, Inc. / Jacobs ESSSA, where he held the concurrent titles of Skill Lead and Damage Tolerance Subject Matter Expert. During his tenure at MSFC, he used FTA systems to help return the Space Shuttle fleet to flight on several occasions during high profile failure investigations. He had significant management experience at MSFC leading teams in multiple disciplines, including materials and processes, natural and induced environments, optics and imagery, and science.

Dr. Adler also has two years of experience as the director of advanced fracture mechanics at a materials testing laboratory. He has been an active leader within the ASTM E08 Committee on Fatigue and Fracture, as well as a participant in ASTM E28 (Mechanical Testing) and ASTM G01 (Metals Corrosion). “The unique background of Dr. Adler has provided the necessary expertise of fracture mechanics testing and FTA software to allow him to very easily assume his new role,” said Mike McVaugh, the president of LTI. “We are very excited to have him onboard working with our skilled team. I look forward to seeing their plans for software enhancements and continued growth of the Fracture Mechanics Department take shape.”

LTI has NADCAP and A2LA accreditations for fatigue crack growth and fracture toughness testing. These tests are performed on computer-controlled servo-hydraulic mechanical test systems that operate with FTA software and provide loads ranging from 40 ft-lb up to 100,000 ft-lb, cycling at a rate of up to 40 Hz. Testing is performed between temperatures of -150 deg F and 2,000 deg F. The Fracture Mechanics Lab also has a high-precision inspection microscope for measuring dimensions of specimens before testing and crack surfaces after testing.

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