Patent ID: 7353715

Claim:
An apparatus, which comprises: a. a frame having a top end; b. a load train section associated with the frame for subjecting a test specimen to a load; c. a load adjusting section associated with the frame and having a fluidic mechanical muscle that contracts and extends in length in a relatively controlled manner to cyclically apply and reduce the load; and d. a lever arm associated with the frame and having a load train end adjacent and connected to the load train section and a load adjusting end adjacent and connected to the load adjusting section, the lever arm being configured to apply and reduce the load from the loading adjusting section to the load train section wherein the lever arm extends generally horizontally and has a pivot point between the load train end and the load adjusting end and wherein the pivot point is balanced on the top end of the frame, and wherein the load train section is generally vertically extending and includes an upper vertically movable pull rod having one end attached to the load train end of the lever arm and the other end attached to one end of the test specimen, and a stationery lower pull rod having one end attached to the other end of the test specimen, and wherein when the upper pull rod is moved upwardly, the test specimen is subjected to a tensile force.