Deadline has been extended to 9/23. All participants will receive a t-shirt and the winners will receive a gift card.

Do you want to create a material and send it to us to test with our state of the art equipment?
Then join our High School Materials Competition. You can submit a material in one of the categories below and we will test if for you. All entries are due by September 23rd and tests will be completed on September 25th (before our annual Open House) starting at 4pm.

All entries can be brought to our main office on the UofU campus at 304 CME  or they can be mailed to
122 South Central Campus Dr. # 304
Salt Lake City, UT 84112

If you are mailing your entry, it must be received in our office by September 23rd.  All mailed entries must include your full name, email, return address if applicable and which material category listed below. If you mail your sample material, please email Marina (email below) to let us know we should be expecting your package.

Entries will be tested and awards will be given to the best materials in the following five categories. The competition awards will be given to the best materials at Open House on September 25th.

For specific questions please email metallurgywithmarina@utah.edu or call at 801-213-4194

 

Categories and Guidelines for Materials Competition

PLASTICS for compression testing
This is a destructive test and your entry will not be returned after testing. The material you create will be tested on our Instron 5969 in order to test for the maximum physical weight limit. Your 3D printed materials can have a maximum size of 2 x 2 x 2 inch and a maximum weight of 100 grams. 3D printed plastic entries must be made using either ABS or PLA filament.

PLASTICS for tension testing
This is a destructive test and your entry will not be returned after testing. The material you create will be tested on our Instron 5969 for how much it can stretch before breaking. Your 3D printed material can have a maximum length of 12 inches. 3D printed plastic entries must be made using either ABS or PLA filament. The design will be bone shaped with the parameters shown in this diagram HERE.
METAL for surface roughness
This is not a destructive test and your entry will be returned after testing. The material you create will be tested on our Scanning Electron Microscope to test for surface roughness. The goal is to achieve the smoothest surface. The maximum size is 1 x 1 inch. Any metal piece made in classes such as jewelry making, welding or auto shop can be submitted. Some examples of entries include: ring, necklace pendant or welding sample.
METAL for porosity
This is not a destructive test and your entry will be returned after testing. The material you create will be tested on our Eclipse XRM_900 Tomography Machine for porosity of the weld. The maximum size is 1 x 1 centimeter. This will be a flat weld. It must be from iron or lighter materials such as steel or titanium. Sample piece can be cut from a larger weld, however the entry must not exceed 1 cm x 1 cm.
CERAMICS for hardness testing
This is a destructive test and your entry will not be returned after testing. The material you create will be tested until it breaks or cracks using a Vickers hardness test.  The maximum width and length is 2 x 2 inches. The maximum height is 1 inch.