Microstructural Analysis
The microstructure analysis of materials examines how the material was made and can provide indicators on how that material will behave in service.
About Microstructural Analysis
Metals and composite materials frequently have specifically engineered microstructures to achieve a desired yield strength, impact strength, hardness, or corrosion resistance. For these reasons, it is important to know the sizes and shapes of grains, reinforcement phases, porosity, or any contaminants such as inclusions.
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Approaches
To conduct microstructural analysis most materials have to be sectioned and polished, as the features are usually on the order of microns and need to be examined with microscopy.
Our Scanning Electron Microscope, coupled with our Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometer (SEM/EDS) will be able to determine the microstructure morphology and confirm the chemical composition of any contaminants, inclusions, or phase separations.
Chemical etching is common for metallic materials to help identify different phases and grain boundaries.
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Sample Considerations
For Scanning Electron Microscopy Analysis the samples will have to be small and conductive.
- We can prepare a smaller representative sample from a larger sample.
- We can also sputter coat non-conductive samples
Samples can be as small as a few millimeters squared as long as they are representative.
Contact us to discuss your testing needs and associated sample considerations.
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Experience
Our team has a wealth of experience related to microstructural analysis. For example we have conducted size analysis of nanoparticles and also analyzed the porosity of materials.