XCT Core Facility 10 kN uniaxial loading stage

The XCT 10 kN loading stage is an in‑house developed in‑situ tensile and compression testing system designed for integration with TESCAN XCT instruments at the KU Leuven XCT Core Facility.

It offers:

• a maximum load capacity of 10 kN, with interchangeable lower‑capacity load cells available to enhance sensitivity when required.
• A large 50 mm stroke, substantially bigger than that of typical in‑situ XCT stages, allowing easy adaptation to a broad range of sample sizes and deformation regimes.
• Motor speeds ranging from 0.06 to 15 mm/min, for both quasi‑static in‑situ XCT testing with minimal motion artefacts and faster (pre-)loading, or positioning outside imaging acitivities.
• 0.2 % full‑scale load accuracy (±20 N for the 10 kN load cell), supporting stable and reproducible force control during long in‑situ XCT scans. Combined with interchangeable lower‑capacity load cells, the full‑scale accuracy can be tailored to maximise force sensitivity for specific experiments.
• Micrometre‑scale displacement accuracy (≈1  µm), ensuring stable and well‑defined mechanical boundary conditions during in‑situ XCT experiments.

Together, these features provide a highly stable and versatile experimental platform for in‑situ XCT and 4D‑XCT studies, enabling quantitative insight into material behaviour under controlled mechanical loading.