EN-MME Mechanical Measurements Laboratory: State-of-the-art Measurement Techniques to Encompass Theoretical Analysis Methods

Many factors make the experimental approach indispensable, and often the only means of access in the investigation of mechanical problems. Theoretical considerations are usually based on simplifying assumptions which imply a certain detachment from the reality. It can be decided only by experimentation whether such idealization has not resulted in an undue distortion of the essential features of the problem. No such doubt needs to enter the experimental approach. The MME Mechanical Measurement Laboratory undertakes physical and mechanical measurements for a wide range of components and devices at CERN. Here, state-of-the-art techniques are used to provide the necessary inputs for these analyses, and to validate them experimentally. This constitutes an essential asset to encompass critical equipment during the entire lifecycle, from conception to commissioning and operation monitoring. This paper reports through examples the measurement techniques carried out in the MME Mechanical Measurement Laboratory.