It’s our mission to maximize safety and operational uptime for our clients. One of the ways in which we do that is through supplying highly-trained, industry-certified personnel to your facility to conduct non-destructive testing (NDT) inspections and testing on your assets to ensure they’re operating efficiently, and to detect damages before they lead to potentially more dangerous consequences.
Our field inspection and testing services include:
In-Situ Metallography or Replica Metallography
In situ metallographic procedures are performed “on location” or in the “field” on components that are too large to bring to the metallographic laboratory. We combine a diversity of advanced metallographic equipment and tools with a dedicated team of experienced metallurgists to conduct high-quality replica examinations and deliver accurate and reliable results that you can trust.
We follow the guidelines in ASTM 1315, ASTM E3, ASTM E340, and ASTM E407 to identify, prepare and examine in-situ metallographic replicas.
On-site PMI with portable XRF-analyzer
Positive Material Identification (PMI) is a fast and non-destructive method for verifying the chemical composition of metals and alloys. Portable and cost-effective, PMI can be performed in the fabrication shop or in the field.
As part of our On-site Metallographic Analysis, METTEK offers on-site PMI with a portable XRF-analyzer for the identification of medium and high alloyed metals, such as stainless steels, nickel alloys, and copper alloys.
Our on-site PMI analysis services provide you with a rapid response to your material sorting requirements when shipping materials or parts to a laboratory is too slow or not possible.
Hardness Testing
We carry out hardness testing both on-site and at our premises using a portable hardness tester which is designed for testing metallic materials with hardness ranges from very low to very high values.
Typical applications for the instrument are large, heavier components that are difficult to access and where it is not feasible or not economical to use static hardness testing. The initial test is recorded can be converted into Vickers, Brinell, Rockwell B, and Rockwell C. An equipment performance check is carried out on a sample block before testing is carried out.
All of our technicians have completed a training course covering equipment assessment against a calibrated block, surface preparation, and reading conversion in accordance with the manufacturer’s operating manual.
Ferrite testing
Ferrite testing is carried out by measuring the ferrillium count by the means of a small probe utilizing the magnetic induction test method. This is where the ferrite content is obtained from the magnetic permeability.
The equipment we use to determine the ferrite content is the Fischer Feritscope FMP30, it is easily portable for both on-site work or fabrication shop. We carry out performance checks on the equipment prior to testing using several calibration standards. This may include just one block with the nearest ferrite content to the items under examination or all blocks for a full calibration.
Ferrite testing can also be carried out on welds; it is a common requirement for austenitic or duplex stainless steel products. All of our technicians have completed a training course for the Fischer Feritscope covering various modules.