Welding Joint Evaluation

Welding is a process by which metal parts can be joined together. It is generally a high temperature process that fuses or connects metal parts at the atomic level. Due to its high temperature operation, the microstructure these metal parts may change during the welding process itself. Mechanical or microscopic characterization of the weld can be performed to evaluate whether the weld has been formed properly or not. Ebatco’s NAT Lab is capable of adapting nondestructive analysis techniques such as optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy to analyze the microstructure and phase distribution of elements at the welding site, especially around the heat-affected zone (HAZ). We can also perform indentation and scratch testing to quantitatively measure differences in mechanical properties across the weld area.

Typical Experimental Results

Optical microscopy image of an etched steel weld after micro indentation analysis.

SEM/EDS analysis of a fractured metal pin. The inset image being the fracture surface of the weld between the pin’s cap and shaft.

Applications

Instrument: JEOL 6610 LV Scanning Electron Microscope

Instrument Key Specifications

For more information, please read our application notes:
Metallurgical Assessment of Weldment Quality for a Single Peg Hook, PDF
All application notes can be found here

ASTM Standards

ISO Standards