Metal Treatments
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There are a number of metal treatment processes, such as shot peening and cold working and others. These are used to induce residual stress into a metal to prevent the occurrence or the propagation of fractures.
In many cases, it is impossible to test the results of the residual stress directly - either directly on the part or measuring the stress directly.
Induced Positron Analysis now provides a method to determine the effectiveness of these processes by measuring the actual residual stress in the material.
Positron’s IPA technology can also be used to determine the evenness or quality of coatings and repairs such as brazing.
- treatment design
- treatment setup
- treatment quality assurance
- treatment longevity
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In the case of some commonly used materials that have been shot peen treated for example, IPA technology has been shown to be more responsive to shot peen results than Almen strips. Not only is IPA capable of better response, but it measures the component directly, rather than measuring an external process sample. The ability to test in the material itself after treatment represents a leap forward in NDE capability. Now you can improve the quality of your treated materials.
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The chart above plots the Positron "S" parameter on the y-axis and the Almen intensity on the x-axis. It shows the reference Almen intensity response versus the actual residual stress measured in a nickel-based supper alloy (CMSX4) |
Positron’s fully integrated work bench software InspectionManager® keeps the NDE Technician on track and documents the work performed.
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Results from the PS6100 work bench show the compressive residual stress around a hole in titanium (graph to the right) - indicating that the process in use was effective and met the required criteria to prevent cracking and crack propagation from the hole. The "S" parameter is on the y-axis and the distance from the hole (in mm) is on the x-axis.
Similar results can be seen for shot peen intensity. Again the technique provides the user with a guide to determine if the treatment was effective and a guide to determine how the residual stress reduces with use.
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treatment design
Use the PS6100 work bench to evaluate the results of different metal treatments, techniques and values. Design the ideal criteria by testing the actual material before your specifications are complete.
treatment setup
When your metal treatment process has been set up, test it so that the desired result will be obtained before large scale production running.
treatment quality assurance
As your production process is operating, sample your processed components and check that the treatment process is continually delivering the desired results.
treatment longevity
Test your components over time, or provide a service to your customers to perform the test and be sure when the effects of the treatment dissipate due to use - fatigue, heat and other causes of defects, or to determine the effectiveness of annealing
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