Huaweida Testing & Certification (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

Material Analysis Testing

Material analysis and testing is a technology that systematically characterizes the composition, structure, properties and defects of materials through physical, chemical and microscopic analytical methods. It can reveal the inherent characteristics, quality status or failure causes of materials, and is widely used in many fields such as manufacturing, aerospace and electronics. Its core goal is to provide scientific support for material research and development, production, quality control and fault diagnosis, and it mainly includes four core modules.

The first is composition analysis, which is used to determine the chemical composition and content of materials, and is divided into elemental analysis and chemical constituent analysis. Elemental analysis detects the types and proportions of elements, with commonly used methods including Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF); chemical constituent analysis identifies molecular structures or compounds relying on technologies such as Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). For example, FTIR can quickly identify whether a plastic is Polyethylene (PE) or Polypropylene (PP), and XRF can detect the lead and cadmium contents in coatings of electronic components.
The second is structural analysis, which focuses on the research of material microstructures that correlate with material properties. Crystal structure analysis uses X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Electron Diffraction (TEM/SAD) to clarify crystal types and lattice parameters; microscopic morphology observation adopts Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) to observe morphological features of surfaces or cross-sections; internal structure inspection applies ultrasonic testing and CT scanning to detect internal defects or layered structures. For instance, observing the surface of fractured metal parts via SEM can determine whether the fracture is caused by fatigue or brittleness; analyzing the phase composition of ceramic materials with XRD can optimize their high temperature resistance.
The third is performance testing, which evaluates the physical, mechanical and chemical properties of materials to verify compliance with service requirements. Physical performance tests measure indicators such as density and melting point; mechanical performance tests cover tensile strength, hardness and more, such as Brinell hardness test for metals and tensile test for plastics; chemical performance tests assess corrosion resistance, weather resistance and the like, including salt spray test and UV aging test. As an example, salt spray test can evaluate the corrosion resistance of auto parts, and tensile test can confirm whether the breaking strength of plastic films meets packaging standards.
The last is failure analysis, which targets failures of materials or products (such as fracture and aging) to trace root causes and propose improvement schemes. Common failure types include metal corrosion and plastic cracking. The analysis process consists of visual inspection, microscopic morphology observation, composition analysis, performance testing and simulation verification. Take the cracked housing of an electronic device as an example: FTIR can confirm whether the material has degraded due to aging, and SEM observation of crack propagation paths can determine if the cracking originates from stress concentration or material defects.

Scope of Application

Product R&D: Optimize material formulations through composition and structural analysis (e.g. developing higher-strength alloys);
Quality Control: Test raw material purity during mass production (e.g. checking for impurities mixed in plastics);
Import & Export Compliance: Verify whether products meet environmental requirements (e.g. heavy metal limits specified in RoHS);
Fault Diagnosis: Analyze the causes of product failures (e.g. fracture of auto parts, burnout of electronic components);
Reverse Engineering: Analyze material composition of competing products to provide references for independent research and development.

Analysis Method	Core Principle	Applicable Materials / Scenarios	Advantages
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)	Molecules absorb infrared light of specific wavelengths via molecular vibration	Plastics, rubber, coatings, textiles (component identification)	Fast, non-destructive, low cost, capable of identifying organic molecular structures
X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF)	Elements emit characteristic X-rays after excitation	Metals, ores, electronic materials (qualitative / quantitative elemental analysis)	Non-destructive, capable of detecting multiple elements, suitable for on-site rapid screening
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)	Electron beam bombards the sample to generate secondary electrons for imaging	Metals, ceramics, composite materials (micro-morphology observation)	High resolution (nanometer scale), compatible with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) for composition analysis
Tensile Test	Apply tensile force until material fractures to measure mechanical parameters	Metals, plastics, fibers (strength and toughness evaluation)	Directly reflects material mechanical properties with mature standard test methods
Salt Spray Test	Accelerate corrosion process by simulating salt fog environment	Metal plating, coatings (corrosion resistance evaluation)	Rapidly evaluate weather resistance and predict service life of products
Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA)	Measure the relationship between material mass and temperature variation	Plastics, rubber (thermal stability and composition analysis)	Capable of measuring decomposition temperature and filler content of materials

Relevant Standards

Standards for Chemical Composition Analysis

Spectroscopic Analysis: Standards for spark optical emission spectrometry include GB/T 11170, ASTM E1086 (for stainless steel), etc.; standards for inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry cover GB/T 20125 (carbon steel and low-alloy steel), SN/T 2718 (stainless steel), and others.
Chemical Titration: The GB/T 223 series national standards specify chemical analysis methods for steels and alloys, which adopt chemical titration and other techniques to determine the content of various elements in steel.
X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry: GB/T 16597-2019 is the general standard for X-ray fluorescence spectrometric analysis, specifying performance requirements for X-ray fluorescence spectrometers and relevant analysis methods.

Standards for Mechanical Property Testing

Tensile Test: ISO 6892-1 stipulates methods and requirements for tensile testing of metallic materials; GB/T 228.1-2020, the domestic standard for metal tensile testing, is consistent with it; ASTM E8/E8M-22 is the standard for metal tensile tests issued by ASTM International.
Hardness Test: ASTM E384-22 is the specification for microhardness testing of materials, defining procedures for Vickers hardness, Knoop hardness and other microhardness tests; GB/T 230.1-2018 covers Rockwell hardness testing of metallic materials, and GB/T 231.1-2018 is the standard for Brinell hardness testing of metallic materials.
Impact Toughness Test: ISO 148-1:2016 specifies methods and requirements for Charpy pendulum impact tests on metallic materials; GB/T 229-2020 is the corresponding domestic standard, and ASTM E23 contains relevant provisions for impact testing.

Standards for Physical Property Testing

Thermal Performance Test: ASTM C177 outlines standard test methods for measuring thermal conductivity of materials, while ISO 75 specifies test procedures for heat deflection temperature of plastics.
Electrical Performance Test: IEC 60243-1 is the standard for electric strength testing of solid insulating materials, defining test methods and conditions for evaluating electric strength of solid insulators.

Standards for Corrosion Resistance Testing

GB/T 10125 is the standard for salt spray testing, specifying test procedures for artificial atmosphere corrosion tests, including Neutral Salt Spray (NSS), Acetic Acid Salt Spray (AASS), Copper-Accelerated Acetic Acid Salt Spray (CASS), etc.
Metallographic Analysis Standards
GB/T 6394-2017 is the standard for determining the average grain size of metals, specifying multiple measurement approaches such as the comparison method, planimetric method and intercept method.

Value & Benefits

Material analysis and testing serves as a bridge linking material properties with practical applications. Adopting scientific analytical methods, it can not only resolve quality defects arising during production, but also drive the research, development and application of new materials, delivering critical technical support for industrial upgrading and product innovation.

Service Process

Clarify testing objectives: Determine analysis directions according to requirements (e.g. "confirm plastic composition", "identify fracture causes");
Sample preparation: Ensure samples are representative (e.g. take samples from failure areas) and free of contamination (e.g. remove surface grease for metal samples);
Method selection: Select testing methods based on material type and precision requirements (e.g. FTIR for qualitative analysis, ICP-MS for quantitative analysis);
Result interpretation: Conduct cross-verification with multiple testing methods (e.g. SEM morphology observation combined with EDS composition analysis to improve conclusion reliability);

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