Diseño de una máquina de ensayos de tensión para fibras de materiales compuestos y polímeros para el uso de aprendizaje e investigación

Abstract

El presente trabajo de graduación se enfoca en el diseño de una máquina de ensayos de tensión, orientada al aprendizaje e investigación en el campo de materiales compuestos y polímeros. Se detallan los antecedentes, justificación, objetivos y el marco teórico que fundamenta el desarrollo del proyecto. Se explican las metodologías empleadas, incluyendo la definición de requisitos, el diseño preliminar con evaluación de alternativas, y los cálculos y simulaciones realizados para validar el diseño propuesto. Finalmente, se presentan los resultados obtenidos, la discusión de los mismos y las conclusiones y recomendaciones derivadas del proceso de diseño y análisis.

Obtaining machine tools in Guatemala can be challenging due to the limited market available in the country, in addition to the fact that the prices of such equipment are generally very high worldwide. This issue negatively affects national research and education, as access to equipment that contributes to the development of solid and well-founded research projects is limited. Therefore, a tensile testing machine for composite material and polymer fibers was designed with the objective of being used for research and educational purposes, and later manufactured at a cost slightly above Q16,000.00 while meeting requirements related to safety, ease of use, and portability.

The project began with research on power generation components, structural materials for the machine, and the components and instruments required to represent and process information. This information served as the basis for the digital design process, which was subsequently simulated to verify compliance with the project requirements. Afterward, materials were quoted in order to determine costs and identify which components could be obtained locally and which would need to be sourced elsewhere.

The goal of this project is to finalize the design of a device capable of generating a tensile force of at least 20 kilonewtons for testing purposes, intended exclusively for learning and research within the university community. The objective is to provide the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala with the engineering drawings and budget for equipment offering capabilities comparable to those available on the market, but at a lower cost due to the difficulties and disadvantages associated with acquiring such equipment.