The SEM can Identify:
- Fracture modes (“How did it fail?” Fatigue, ductile, brittle, etc.)
- Fracture origin (defect, inclusion, damage, corrosion pitting, etc.)
- Stress at time of failure (Shear, torsion, tensile, bending, etc.)
- Direction and progression of fracture to final failure.
- Misuse in service, manufacturing defects, and other factors contributing to failure.
The EDS can identify:
- Chemical composition of contaminants and their source.
- Wear debris and its source components.
- Reverse engineering information such as multi layer plating composition, surface treatments, etc.
The SEM is a versatile and essential tool in failure analysis and metallurgical engineering, and when combined with the EDS is capable of both imaging and chemically analyzing features as small as one-fifty millionths of an inch in diameter.