Metallurgical Analysis

Home » Services » Materials Testing & Analysis » Metallurgical Analysis

EAG performs metallurgical analysis and failure analysis investigations of various metallic and non-metallic products and components used in the aerospace, transportation, consumer products, construction and medical device industries. Additionally, we assist our clients with product design, materials selection, product improvement and quality assurance programs involving metallurgical issues. From routine metallurgical testing to complex consulting, EAG ensures the highest standard of quality for metallurgical evaluations.

Metals and alloys are critical building blocks of many products in modern society. From nanomaterials to architectural structures, metallurgical materials have a wide range of uses and applications. High-purity metals and alloys find their way in automobiles, semiconductor devices, aircraft, sputter targets, evaporation sources, magnetic media, and many more products. Accurate and precise determination of their chemical composition ensures that end users have the right materials for their specific applications.

For many applications, the surface finish of the part can affect its lifetime and stability. This is particularly important in the biomedical field. Proper surface passivation can extend the lifetime of a medical implant, improve biocompatibility and reduce toxicity.

EAG Laboratories has the knowledge and means to evaluate the bulk and surface characterization to address these issues. When surface failure occurs, accurate understanding of the failure mechanism can help avoid future problems. The use of high resolution imaging tools in our metallurgy lab provides excellent information regarding failure mechanisms and the possible impact of contaminants and impurities on the failure. EAG’s metallurgists have the range of tools and techniques available to address this. They are also experienced with providing litigation support and expert witness services for legal cases involving metallurgical analysis.

Metallurgical Analysis Examples

Our scientists and metallurgical experts utilize multiple analytical approaches to detect and solve problems such as:

Fracture failure modes and origins
Fatigue and other slow crack growth mechanisms
Brittle and ductile failures
Stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement failures
Corrosion and oxidation problems
Contamination problems
Wear failures
Heat treatment problems
Plating and surface finishing problems
Welding, brazing and soldering problems
Design and materials selection
Purity evaluations of precious metals
Determination and classification of alloys
Conformance testing to international or industrial standards
Lot-to-lot material comparisons for quality assurance
Verification of purchased products
Oxygen content measurement and certification of oxygen-free materials
Comparisons of conforming vs. nonconforming materials
Process monitoring of dopant/additive levels
Certification of Pb-free solders
Examination of grain size and structure and grain boundary analysis
Vendor comparison studies through metallurgical analysis
Purification process evaluations
Surface cleanliness of metals to monitor cleaning methods
Thickness of surface oxides in passivation layer
Concentration of toxic Ni at the surface of NiTi (Nitinol)
Passivation layer thickness on medical implant materials
Surface Pb concentration determination for biomedical applications
In situ fracture analysis of cleaved surface
Material hardness testing

Frequently analyzed high purity materials in our metallurgy lab

Precious metals
Titanium
Nickel and Ni alloys
Molybdenum
Copper
Aluminum
Indium
Iron and steel
Cobalt and Co alloys
Silicon
Rhenium
Tungsten
Chromium
Tantalum

Related Resources

We utilize specialized instrumentation in the areas of spectroscopy, chromatography, electron and optical microscopy, thermal analysis, surface analysis and materials characterization, in order to solve challenging problems for our customers.