Physical Testing

Interface Technical Inspection opened its Metallurgical / Mechanical Testing Laboratory in 2009 to serve all the needs of the Middle Eastern Region.

The Laboratory is located centrally within Dubai in the area of Ras Al Khor Industrial Estate 2.

The facility is custom made to house all the equipment needed for the testing requirements of the area and is fitted with state of the art testing machines.

The lab also offers full testing for Weld Procedure and Welder Qualifications.

All specimens are manufactured in the comprehensively equipped workshop, using fully trained and skilled machinists.

Interface offers a fully DAC accredited laboratory to ISO 17025 (the internationally recognised standard for testing laboratories).

Routine Mechanical Testing

Mechanical testing is vital to many industries, it provides validation of their material, ensures quality products are manufactured and that all specific compliances are met.

We offer a full range of testing that includes:

  • Tensile testing – ISO, ASTM, ASME, EN, AWS load range 10kN to 1000kN
  • Hardness testing – Rockwell and Vickers
  • Through Thickness Tensile (including welding if required)
  • Impact testing – ISO and ASTM from room temperature to -196°C (12J-300J)
  • Bend testing
  • Fracture testing
  • Nick Break
  • Load test
  • Pull out test

Routine Metallurgical Testing

Metallurgical testing services provided below are vital for many industries so they can identify heat treatment processes, material grade and manufacturing techniques.

  • Inclusion content – ASTM E45 Method A and D
  • Ferrite % – ASTM E562 point count method
  • Grainsize –ASTM E112
  • Macro analysis
  • Micro analysis

Corrosion Testing

With corrosion a major problem for pipelines and drilling applications in the region due to the Hydrogen Sulphide gas exposure, it is vitally important to assess materials for their susceptibility to corrosive attacks.

Also Intergranular and pitting corrosion of stainless steels is of equal importance and is a cost factor to structures of this kind in the area.
Interface offers the below testing:

  • Pitting and Corrosion testing – ASTM G48 Method A
  • Inter granular Corrosion testing – ASTM A262 Practice E
  • Sulphide Stress Corrosion (SSC) – NACE/ISO
  • Hydrogen Induced Cracking (HIC) – NACE/ISO

Chemical Analysis

To support our in-house testing we offer a comprehensive chemical analysis of metals using OES (Optical Emission Spectroscopy).

The energy of the spark causes the electrons in the sample to emit light which is converted into a spectral pattern. By measuring the intensity of the peaks in this spectrum, the OES analyzers can produce qualitative and quantitative metal analysis of the material composition with uncompromising accuracy.

This testing is particularly important to ensure material grades meet the supplying specification.

  • OES Chemical Analysis (NIST Verified) – ASTM E415

Onsite Testing

Often it is impossible to move certain components for testing; these situations are covered by the onsite testing services shown below:

  • Positive Material Identification (PMI)
  • Hardness testing
  • Micro structure analysis using replication technique
  • Ferrite measurement (austenitic and stainless steel)

Mechanical Testing Lab

Interface Technical Inspection provides a comprehensive range of metallurgical and mechanical testing services with a dedicated machine shop to provide specimen preparation. Test specimens are prepared for metallic and non-metallic materials in the evaluation of tensile, compression, impact, weldability, fatigue and bend properties.

Interface Technical Inspection has in-house Mechanical Testing Facility to provide precise determination of Proof Stress by the attachment of various Electronic Extensometers. Tests are conducted as per ASTM, BS, DIN, NACE or client specified standards.

Our Mechanical Testing Capabilities include:

  • Tensile Test upto +200°C
  • Charpy Impact Test up to minus 196º C
  • Hardness Test (Rockwell/ Vickers/ Brinell)
  • Macro Etching Test with Photograph.
  • Compression Test
  • Bend Test on Plates & Pipes including welds
  • Through Thickness Tensile Test
  • Proof Load Test on Nuts / bolts
  • Load Test (Mock Up) per tube
  • Fracture Test
  • Chemical Analysis of all types of Steels by High Precision OE Spectrometer.

Charpy Impact Test

The Charpy impact test, also known as the Charpy v-notch test, is a standardized high strain- rate test which determines the amount of energy absorbed by a material during fracture. This absorbed energy is a measure of given material’s toughness and acts as a tool to study temperature-dependent brittle-ductile transition. It is widely applied in industry, since it is easy to prepare and conduct and results can be obtained quickly.

Fully Equipped Machine Shop

The laboratory has a dedicated workshop that prepares samples required to be tested, as per Codes &Standards (ASTM, BS). Complete machine shop facilities including Lathe Machines, Power Hacksaw machines, Surface Grinding Machines, Milling Machines and Drilling Machines. Complete Set of Measuring and inspection instruments including Vernier Calipers, Micrometers, and Dial Gauges, number of fixtures and attachments for various tests.

Metallurgical Analysis

  1. Grain Size Measurement
  2. Inclusion Count
  3. Delta Ferrite Phase Count
  4. Coating Thickness
  5. Micro Hardness
  6. Root cause Failure Analysis
  7. Remaining Life Assessment
  8. Analysis of corrosion test samples
  9. Replica Metallography

Interface is equipped with state of the art microscopes and micro specimen preparation equipment. The samples can be analyzed from as low 50x to as high as 1000x. The microscope is fitted with live image capture and image analysis software for automatic grain size measurement by ASTM methods.

The image analysis software also enables measurement of inclusion count by ASTM E45 method. The delta ferrite can be measured by manual point count measure on stainless steel and Duplex steel weld materials very accurately.

The microscope combined with image analysis software enables, to measure the coating thickness of zinc coated sheets, painted substrates, etc.

At Interface we do a complete failure analysis for failed/broken parts in various industries. The samples are analyzed from source of failure and ultimately getting the root cause of the failure.