Analyze If An Object Is In Line With Its Standard Quality By Using Positive Material Identification (PMI) - By: joalesto

Positive material identification or PMI is a nondestructive test method that is used to examine alloys and other materials to determine the presence of impurity. This is done in order to find out if the material is authentic based on the grade name it bears and to find out whether an alloy possesses unneeded elements. PMI is a process that shall serve as a gauge whether to accept or reject a material. There is no way that this process will be used to adjust the quality of the material to make it suitable for usage.

Engineers generally push the borderline of the capacity of any material to limits that make it efficient for the purpose and design. Hardly ever does a material come pure as it is typically alloyed or mixed with other elements to make it sturdier and more durable. However, several issues arise and we should take into account that with modification of composition comes the change in material specification. The durability of a material shall be determined by the proportions of the elements present in it. The wrong ratio can render the material futile. To complicate matters, the presence of impurities can limit the usefulness of a material. There is no other way for engineers to find out if a material is going to be suitable for particular purpose than doing methodical tests and PMI is just one of those standard tests employed to verify aptness of a material.

PMI determines the alloy composition and grade of a material whether it comes with a certificate or not. The objective is to find out whether the grade as mentioned on the label is truthful. The process is generally used for premium metals like precious alloys and stainless steel. Because it is an NDT (like dye penetrant inspection or radiography), it is an excellent method of examination without altering the material physically or chemically.

There are usually two ways to carry out PMI and these are x-ray fluorescence and spark emission spectrography. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is usually more reliable than spark emission spectrography because it leaves no traces on the surface of the material being tested. The XRF equipment consists of radioactive sources that emit low voltage x-rays. As the theory speaks, atoms of materials exposed to x-rays become excited and emit energy. The energy emitted by an excited atom is unique. As a result, this method is an effective way of identifying what elements are present in a material. XRF does not only detect what elements are present but also determines how much of each element is present.

Much of PMI test is done with the use of XRF, which is suitable when the integrity of the material being tested should be preserved. Some material analyses require taking a piece of the test subject for laboratory analysis but this is not applicable in many instances. PMI is just one of the many NDT methods, like acoustic emission, leak detection, and hydrotesting.

About the Author

Jo is a content writer for 'Inspection Consultants (Incon)', an independently managed and owned Non Destructive Testing (NDT) firm stationed in Cheshire that has long been rendering an extensive NDT program to their clients for twenty five years. In case you are looking for fully equipped and qualified on the road technicians that can offer you a full range of Positive Material Identification services both at their base station or onsite then take a look at Inspection Consultants (http://www.incon.co.uk).

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