Destructive testing
Destructive testing is a category of tests used to determine the physical, mechanical and chemical properties of materials. The main objective of a destructive test is to characterize the material in all its properties, thus evaluating its behavior when subjected to mechanical or environmental stress, or its chemical and structural composition.
Destructive testing in TEC Eurolab
TEC Eurolab can perform destructive and nondestructive testing of materials. Destructive and nondestructive testing represent two complementary approaches to quality control of components and materials.
With nondestructive testing, the component is analyzed from a surface or internal point of view to identify any nonconformity with the technical drawing. The component remains intact and can be used in the future by the customer if it conforms to specifications.
When destructive testing is performed, on the other hand, the necessary specimens are extracted from the component under test on which to perform the various mechanical, metallographic and chemical tests, depending on the customer’s requirements. In this case, the component is destroyed, so it is no longer usable.
Alternatively, the component is manipulated and subjected to various environmental and corrosive conditions, so that even at the end of this type of testing it can no longer be used.
Determine the physical, mechanical and chemical properties of materials.
Destructive testing: the types of analysis
Thanks to the expertise of our technicians and accreditations according to specific ISO and ASTM Methods, at TEC Eurolab we are able to perform destructive tests that characterize the material from one point of view:
– mechanic
– metallurgical
– chemical
Destructive mechanical testing
Among destructive testing, destructive mechanical tests, which assess the resistance to mechanical stress and fatigue of the specimen under examination, are of fundamental importance. Among the destructive mechanical tests TEC Eurolab can perform, according to the specific ISO and ASTM Methods:
- Tensile tests at room temperature (ISO Method 6892-1, ASTM E8) in hot (ASTM Method E21, ISO 6892-2) and cold conditions
- Room-temperature and cold resilience tests (ISO Method 148-1, ASTM E23)
- Creep test
- Stress rupture tests (ASTM Method E139, ASTM E292)
- Fatigue tests
- Fracture mechanics
- Verification of residual stresses
Metallurgical Tests
Metallurgical tests are divided into metallographic analysis, hardness tests and chemical tests.
Metallographic analysis investigates the structure of different types of metal macrographically and micrographically (using instruments such as the SEM – electron microscope) and evaluates the resistance of the metal material to corrosive environments (corrosion tests) and predefined environmental conditions (salt spray tests).
Hardness tests verify, precisely, the hardness of a material by forcing a sphere of defined diameter and consisting of hard steel or carbides on the surface of a metal under a specific load. At TEC Eurolab, we can perform hardness tests by several methods
- Brinell hardness method ISO 6506-1
- Rockwell hardness ISO method 6508-1
- Vickers hardness method ISO 6507-1
Destructive chemical testing
Another strand of destructive testing is chemical testing. These, in particular, are used to:
- Define the chemical composition of the materials being tested,
- Check its suitability for food contact,
- Ensure that it does not release substances harmful to people or
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the component washing process
For example, with plasma spectrometry (ICP) it is possible to quantitatively determine most of the chemical elements of the periodic table even in very low concentrations.
Release tests are used to verify the suitability of materials that will come into contact with food (MOCA) or that, if released, may be harmful to people (Reach & RoHS analysis).
Finally, contamination tests investigate the surface contamination of samples in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the washing process.
Destructive testing: the industries we target
Thanks to our expertise in the field of destructive and non-destructive testing of materials, we are able to support manufacturing companies in verifying the quality and performance of products and processes. We primarily, but not exclusively, target these sectors:
- Aerospace
- Automotive
- Biomedical
- Oil&Gas
- Fasteners
- Energy
- General Industry