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Material Testing & Analysis Services

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Work With a Qualified
Material Testing Lab

Constellation PowerLabs is a full-service calibration and testing laboratory since 1911. While we offer a diverse array of testing and analysis, you will find that we are a qualified material testing lab that can exceed your expectations in not only our results, but our professionalism.

The discipline of materials science involves investigating the relationships that exist between the structures and properties of materials. Material analysis is the investigation of materials that determines their structure and properties. This process can involve a variety of techniques, including inspection, testing, and analysis. Material testing and analysis can help ensure that the material meets the required specifications.

To name a few, industries that typically use material testing and analysis services include the automotive, aerospace, nuclear and pharmaceuticals. These industries depend on materials that are reliable and meet the specific requirements of the product. Material testing is also beneficial from a safety aspect and production standpoint, as mixed contaminates / foreign materials could affect production performance and could be a hazard for environmental safety. It’s critical that you work with a qualified lab to perform the testing and analysis to ensure your components are made to the correct characterization elements to withstand any extremities for its intended use.

Material analysis is not only used to ensure materials meet specifications or known elements, it can also be used to determine why something failed.

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How We Utilize Material Testing in Our Failure Analysis Process

In our failure analysis investigations, we use material analysis and testing to help us make better informed decisions about why a component failed. We use a variety of methods to test materials, including destructive and nondestructive testing. By testing and analyzing materials, it allows our engineers to make a better-informed decisions as to why the component failed.

For destructive testing, components can be tested for their ability to withstand extremes of temperature, pressure, vibration, and other conditions. By understanding the conditions that the component was subjected to, we can determine the root cause of the failure. Our team is fully equipped to deliver accurate material testing results that will provide insight into what you need to make your next move forward.

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Our Material Testing Lab Uses Only the Most Advanced Technical Equipment

At Constellation PowerLabs, we are always adapting our systems and investing in new technologies to best support our customers. Here are just a few of the types of equipment we use to deliver accurate reliable results for our customers:

SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy)

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This device is a high magnification microscope with a magnification ranging from 10 to 200,000. It has a resolution of 5.0 nm at 30 kV. Using electrons, this microscope creates images by scanning the material surface, helping the user determine the composition.

EDS or EDX (Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy)

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The EDS or EDX is a detector on the SEM. This helps the user view the elemental composition or chemical characterization of the sample.

OES (Optical Emission Spectroscopy)

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Operation of this spectrometer is based on the principle of the direct-reading atomic emission analytical technique which depends on the fact that atoms of elements can be energized (excited) to emit radiant energy when exposed to a suitable excitation source. When this radiant energy is dispersed it emerges as a light spectrum having a pattern determined by the structure of the atoms that have been excited. Since atoms of different elements contain different electron configurations, each element has a distinct and characteristic spectrum, with spectral lines occurring at different wavelengths. Each element can be identified by its characteristic lines. During quantitative analysis, line brightness represents element concentration in the specimen.

FTIR (Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy)

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This device is used for polymer analysis and oils. This technique provides a spectrum that can be found in each polymer, grease, or lubricant. It looks for distinguishing peaks to see if it fits that certain material characteristic.

Wilson Rockwell Hardness Testing Series 500 & Series 2000

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This device allows the user to perform hardness testing, where hardness is tested on the level of force required to make a specific dent size in the material. This unit determines the hardness of the material. This technique can be used for polymers, metals and alloys that need to meet a certain standard.

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Our Process

PowerLabs mainly focuses on mechanical and electrical testing to determine material properties as well as metallurgical analysis to understand the structure of metallic material, and chemical testing to verify elemental composition.

Tensile and hardness testing are just a few examples of the type of mechanical testing our material testing lab provides in order to determine the ultimate tensile strength, breaking strength, elongation, and hardness of materials. Electrical testing of materials can determine properties such as electrical conductivity and dielectric constant. Metallurgical analysis provides information about the micro-structure of a metal or its structural features including grains and types of phases which is ultimately the basis for a material’s properties. All testing is completed to a wide selection of standards or specifications (i.e. ASTM, etc) to ensure materials perform as expected.

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The Difference Between Chemical and Material Testing

Our laboratory provides both chemical analysis and material analysis testing. While these share similar commonalities in analyzing the composition of elemental properties, they are two completely different processes. If you are in need of chemical analysis or testing, please check out our chemical analysis services.

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Delivering Excellence & Quality Testing

PowerLabs is a full-service accredited laboratory in calibrations and follows strict quality requirements as an approved nuclear supplier that allows us to provide Appendix B Testing. A prerequisite of an Approved Nuclear Supplier is maintaining a documented quality program that is successfully audited and approved by NUPIC and NIAC. This ensures that the quality program satisfies the requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations 10 CFR 50; Appendix B, 10 CFR 21, NQA-1 and ANSI N45.2. The scope of our Appendix B program covers every type of measuring and test equipment used in a nuclear power station.

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