About PRL

PRL examines the characteristics of polymer materials under application-focused quasistatic and dynamic load profiles. We acquire the current state of the art from science and industry from our network, which comprises universities, public and private research institutions and specialists from manufacturing industry with relevant know-how on a high scientific technical level. The development of methods and systems for characterising the mechanical properties of polymer materials is guaranteed by us in their entirety. We process this work from the initial technical discussion and problem specification, through scientific research and experimental preliminary examinations and drawing up suggestions for solutions, to the development and construction of a suitable measuring device, its production and the verification through experiments of functionality and results.

 
Our mission has four fields of activity:

Research and development

We research and develop in the area of material characterisation. The target is to define measuring methods with whose help the mechanical properties of polymer materials can be defined under simulated real load conditions on a laboratory scale. Numerous studies prove that some laboratory tests do not correlate at all, or only very insufficiently, with real field tests on com-ponents made of polymer materials. This is why we see our task as developing new measuring methods with which, so to speak in anticipation, correlations can be detected on a laboratory scale that cause problems in practice for which there have not been any measuring methods, or for which existing measuring methods are insufficiently informative.

Design and machine construction

Constructional and metrological realisation follows the definition and analysis of the problem, and the stipulation of the suitable measuring methodology (sample geometry, load type, load profile). This means that the test setup has to be constructed and the engineering calculated in order to achieve the necessary stability, and thus to ensure the quality of the measuring results. The results are pragmatic and economic solutions that enable tests on a laboratory scale that are alternatively much more expensive to achieve in the field.

Material tests

We process test orders both with methods and systems that we developed ourselves and in accordance with international standards. PRL cooperates closely with the Engineering Faculty of Tomas Bata University in Zlin and with the CPS (Centre for Polymer Systems) and has access to the extensive test appliance park of the laboratories and engineering installations.

We see ourselves as your excellently equipped laboratory and work in close cooperation with your specialists parallel to your needs. We are looking forward to your requirements from the polymer materials sector.

Training

Accompanying the development and verification of deep, practice-oriented technical knowledge is its dissemination. Our target is to make this specialist knowledge available for practical use in companies on a qualified and application-oriented basis. PRL sees therefore a significant task in the efficient transmission of relevant knowledge through technical training for your personnel. Because the quality of training is defined not only through the state of the art, but also through the manner in which it is mediated, we set store by their pedagogical as-pects. For this reason we include research results from applied pedagogy and didactics, in order to be able to transmit the latest knowledge about polymers in the field of material sci-ences in an interesting, fascinating and thus effective form. We organise customised technical seminars for your personnel on your premises and also run seminars on the university’s prem-ises. In doing this we take account of the participants’ level of knowledge and qualifications in order to guarantee optimum access to training content with customised didactics.