Analysis of toughness in 6156 Al-Mg-Si-Cu sheet has been performed using enhanced Kahn tear tests on samples quenched at different rates. Crack initiation energies were hardly affected by changing water quench temperature from 20°C to 60°C; however a significant reduction was evident on air cooling. Crack propagation energy was reduced for both 60°C water quenched and air cooled materials. Obse...

Electrolytic Hard Chrome (EHC) coatings are widely employed to improve the surface performance of engineering components. The superior wear and corrosion resistance, combined with the processing advantage of being able to coat surfaces with complex geometries, makes EHC a preferred choice for coating critical components like aircraft landing gear, hydraulic actuator cylinders, etc. There are, h...

OBJECTIVES Presentation of a methodological approach using stereo and scanning electron microscope examination for the failure analysis of an alumina all-ceramic premolar crown (Procera AllCeram). METHODS The recovered part of a fractured Procera alumina crown was examined utilizing first a stereomicroscope and second a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The stereomicroscope analysis was per...

Failure analysis of fractured components provides some information about the causes and conditions of fracture. Fractography is an indispensable part of the failure analysis as it is usually the only means by which the failure mechanism can be established. By using fractography, some information such as component’s life, values of the stress intensity factor and the applied stress can be calcul...

Epoxy binders containing microballoons ranging from 38.5 to 57.7% by volume were cast in a mold and cured, and the resulting slabs were sectioned to yield short-beam test coupons. The strength changes with microballoons content were noted. These reveal an increase from 3.87 to 5.79 MPa for a decrease in microballoons content from 57.7 to 38.5%. Mechanical data were correlated with fractographic...

Three-dimensional views of cell structures at high magnifications made possible by the scanning electron microscope (SEM) are becoming increasingly useful to biologists. Methods that have proved useful for stabilizing biological soft tissue for observation in the SEM include the critical point method (1, 2), freeze drying, freeze fracturing followed by freeze drying (4, 9, 10), observation of s...