Destructive Testing Services

Destructive testing is a variety of analysis and material testing techniques, which evaluate the properties and structural performance of a metal component until it fails. As the material is destroyed at the end of testing, destructive testing is generally performed on low-cost, mass-produced items.

If you are looking for a destructive testing company in the greater Los Angeles, California area, Rickard Metals is the leader with 25+ years of experience overseeing destructive testing on steel, nickel, aluminum, titanium, and alloy steels.

Some of the destructive & material testing services we offer include:

Chemical Analysis Testing

Chemical analysis testing is an inexpensive destructive testing method for analyzing most aluminum, carbon steel, low alloy steel, cast iron, nickel superalloy and stainless steel materials. In doing so, the material is melted down and then analyzed to determine material composition, element and moisture information, trace analysis and more.

Tensile Properties Testing

In tensile properties testing a material is subject to uniaxial tension until fails. During the tensile test the material is elongated at various speeds and forces. In each test, the force that the material opposes to the elongation is recorded and analyzed for strength, elasticity, springiness and other relevant properties.

Failure Analysis

Failure analysis testing is a destructive test, whereas, failed components are analyzed to better understand the reason for the failure. At Rickard Metals, we oversee scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on a fracture surface to identify information such as the fracture point, propagation and speed of propagation.

Case Depth Testing

Case depth testing is a material test that employs case hardening techniques in order to measure the case depth. In doing so, the surface layer of the material (the “case”) is hardened so that it is significantly harder than the core of the material. Various methods are then employed to measure the depth of the case through chemical composition, mechanical properties and visual analysis.

Microstructure Testing

This is the standard practice for microscopic examination involving microetching of the metal alloy material. It is useful to reveal information about processes performed on the material, such as heat treatment, forming, forging, extrusion, cold and hot rolling, threading, heading, drawing and more.