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Tested. Not Just Theorized.
Prototype-validated across multiple designs and loading conditions.
What the Testing Shows
CTC's StrainVector Control™ composite disc designs have been physically fabricated and tested — not just modeled. What follows are representative load-displacement results from impact testing of a single StrainVector Control™ composite coned disc, demonstrating the real-world structural behavior that underpins the technology platform.
Single StrainVector Control™ Composite Disc — Impact Loading
Structures exhibiting quasi-zero-stiffness (QZS) behavior have attracted significant interest for their ability to attenuate vibration and reduce shock force spikes during impact events. However, the complexity, weight, and volume of many conventional QZS approaches have limited broader practical implementation.
Multiple composite disc designs have been fabricated and tested to evaluate performance under both quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions. Testing demonstrated that a single StrainVector Control™ composite coned disc can generate a pronounced QZS plateau—a highly desirable response regime for force modulation, shock and vibration attenuation, and impact-energy management. While many conventional QZS approaches rely on multi-component or multi-disc configurations to achieve extended QZS behavior, StrainVector Control™ has demonstrated meaningful QZS performance in a single ultralight composite disc.
As one example within the StrainVector Control™ portfolio, CTC designed, fabricated, and impact tested a compact composite shock disc weighing less than three pennies. Testing demonstrated sustained energy absorption, extreme deformation capability, and experimentally verified QZS behavior in a single ultralight structure. During prototype evaluation, the disc survived a peak transient acceleration exceeding 32,000 g’s. By sustaining structural integrity and continuous energy absorption capability under extreme deformation without failure, it validated the readiness of StrainVector Control™ structures for demanding, repeat-impact environments.
The result is a structural approach that can be tailored to specific load requirements, integrated into new or existing product designs, and validated through CTC's proprietary numerical analysis method before fabrication begins.
Analysis-Directed. Validation-Confirmed.
CTC's disc designs are not developed through trial-and-error fabrication. Each design candidate is evaluated through CTC's proprietary numerical analysis methodology before anything is fabricated — screening material systems, composite architectures, structural designs, and loading configurations through numerical analysis first. Physical fabrication and testing follow to validate what the numerical analysis predicted.
Prototype testing of structural elements has been conducted across multiple materials and composite architectures, a select series of geometric designs, as well as under quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions.
The result: prototype testing confirms performance, rather than searching for it.
See What's Possible
CTC works directly with OEMs, part manufacturers, and development partners to evaluate how StrainVector Control™ can enhance product performance.
Leveraging proprietary analysis tools and extensive expertise in nonlinear structural behavior, we help customers identify promising design approaches, evaluate technology integration opportunities, and accelerate product development by reducing reliance on costly iterative design, fabrication, and testing.
Our role is to provide technical insight and design support that enables more efficient development, while customers retain responsibility for their final product designs.