We develop
a novel apparatus
and a
n associated
test protocol to measure the tensile
response of materials. The apparatus allows testing of ring
-
shaped specimens
,
fibre
yarns and tapes of arbitrary length
; it can be employed to conduct experiments at
different strain rates and
in different
environmental conditions
.
The technique is tested
at low rates of strain on several materials, including carbon fibres, metals, polymers
and
ceramics
; the tensile respon
ses
measured with the new apparatus
are compared to
those
obtained
from
conventional
measurements
and found
to be
in good agreement
with these
.