Destructive Techniques

Ultrasonic Tomographic Non-Destructive Techniques for Materials Characterization. 

ICP-OES is a destructive technique that provides only elemental composition. However, ICP-OES is relatively insensitive to sample matrix interference effects. Interference effects in ICP-OES are generally less severe than in GFAA, FAA, or ICPMS. Matrix effects are less severe when using the combination of laser ablation and ICP-OES than when a laser microprobe is used for both ablation and excitation. 

There are numerous techniques which provide information related to the surface energy of solids. A large array of high-vacuum, destructive and non-destructive techniques is available, and most of them yield information on the atomic and chemical composition of the surface and layers just beneath it. These are reviewed elsewhere [83,84] and are beyond the scope of the present chapter. From the standpoint of their effect on wettability and adhesion, the property of greatest importance appears to be the Lifshitz-van der Waals ( dispersion) surface energy, ys. This may be measured by the simple but elegant technique of... 

Thermal effects, including the dehydrohalogenation of polymers such as polyvinylchloride (PVC) can also occur. However, these effects are the exception and for the most part, XPS can be considered a non-destructive technique for surface characterization. 

Thermal destructive techniques have been widely used for many years to control some of these emissions. Thermal oxidizer sizes range from 100 SCFM up to 100,000 SCFM. Each industry has operations that dictate the exhaust flow that must be processed. 

Sweepolet is a contoured, integral r r, rr butt-weld branch connection with a low intensification factor for low stresses -fatigue life. The attachment weld is easily amined by radiography, ultrasound and other standard non-destructive techniques. 

The electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation (EPR) test was proposed by Cihal etal. and developed by Novak and others as a fast, quantitative and non-destructive technique for establishing the degree of sensitisation of austenitic stainless steels. 

Destructive techniques have been widely applied to determine the concentration of key elements In cells and other biota, but beside being Incapable of use in vivo, they offer no Information on the chemical nature of the element In question. For example, acid digestion of cells which have accumulated various organotln species, and subsequent traditional analysis by atomic absorption (AA) spectroscopy or element-specific spectrofluorlmetry, will produce quantitative data on the amount of tin present, but will reveal nothing about the coordination environment of the metal on the cell surface prior to destruction. 

SIMS is strictly speaking a destructive technique. In the dynamic mode, used for making concentration depth profiles, several tens of monolayers are removed per minute. In the static limit, which is used to study adsorbed molecules, the rate of removal corresponds to less than one monolayer per hour, implying that the surface... 

Identification of dyes on dyed textiles is traditionally carried out by destructive techniques [493], TLC is an outstanding technique for identification of extracted dyestuffs and examination of inks. Figure 4.9 shows HPTLC/SERRS analysis of acridine orange [492], Wright et al. [494] have described a simple and rapid TLC-videodensitometric method for in situ quantification of lower halogenated subsidiary colours (LHSC) in multiple dye samples. The results obtained by this method were compared with those obtained by an indirect TLC-spectrophotometric method and those from HPLC. The total time for the TLC-videodensitometric assay of five standards and four samples applied to each plate was less than 45 min. The method is applicable for use in routine batch-certification analysis. Loger et al. [495,496] have chromatographed 19 basic dyes for PAN fibres on alumina on thin-layer with ethanol-water (5 2) and another 11 dyes on silica gel G with pyridine-water... 

Sputter-Ion Depth Profiling. Although it is essentially a destructive technique, SIMS depth profiling is rapid, and possesses parts per million or even parts per billion sensitivity to all elements and isotopes, coupled with a depth resolution of a few nanometres. Concentration-depth plots can be accurate to 5%. 

PIGE is a rapid, non-destructive technique that is employed in the analysis of light elements such as lithium (10-100 ppm limit of detection), boron (500-1000 ppm limit of detection), and fluorine (1-10 ppm limit of detection), which are often difficult to determine by other analytical means. Because the technique is based upon specific nuclear reactions, the sensitivity of PIGE varies greatly from isotope to isotope, and this non-uniformity of sensitivity has limited its widespread use as a complementary technique to micro-PIXE. 

Developments in electron microscopy also promise to revolutionize other studies of the surfaces of solids in general and/of catalysts in particular. Previously, monatomic steps and other topographical features at the exterior surfaces of solids were best investigated by the powerful but cumbersome, and destructive technique of gold-decoration - see refs 69 and 70 for studies of alkali halide and layered sulphides, respectively. 

These difficult experimental controversies show that there is a significant role for NMR, a non-perturbing non-destructive technique that provides structural information about the local atomic environment over several bonds. 

Chemical treatments are commonly applied to imperfect gems to improve appearance and/or enhance the color. Although gem treatment is legal, dealers must disclose whether or not a specific specimen has been treated and what treatment has been applied. As treatment technology improves, the gem industry is increasingly aware of and sensitive to the presence of both disclosed and undisclosed treated gems in the marketplace. Thus, there is a need to be able to reliably detect chemically treated gems with a minimally-destructive technique. 

These experiments also show the value of NEXAFS as a technique for following the kinetics of surface processes. We have shown that experiments can be tailored so a specific reaction can be studied, even if gas evolution is not involved. This represents an advantage over thermal desorption experiments, where several steps may be required in order to desorb the products to be detected. Another advantage of NEXAFS is that rates are measured isothermally, so the kinetic parameters can be determined with accuracy. Finally, NEXAFS is not a destructive technique, so we need not to worry about modifying the surface compounds while probing the system, as would be the case with other techniques such as Auger electron spectroscopy. 

Remote sensing applications comprising a battery of non-destructive techniques for the location and characterization of buried features at the regional, microregional and intrasite levels. 

It was not until the application of neutron activation analysis (NAA) that the problem of overlapping sources could be tackled. NAA is a highly sensitive and essentially non-destructive technique, although samples have to be taken which remain radioactive for some time after analysis. The use of NAA in characterizing obsidian was first demonstrated in the early 1970s (Aspinall... 

Traditionally, processes have used a single destruction technique, and this has historically been the case also for HYDECAT . Thus, nearly all installed processes treat the waste hypochlorite at the concentration it exits the scrubbing system down to concentrations suitable for discharge (Fig. 26.2). The key aspect in the re-evaluation described herein is to question the practices of firstly single technology and secondly end-of-pipe treatment the destruction of the hypochlorite exclusively in the blowdown stream from the scrubber. That is, it is questioned whether installation of a single treatment technique solely to process the effluent at its natural concentration from the scrubber loop is necessarily the best process option. This chapter will consider the two parts of the question paraphrased above sequentially. 

X-ray fluorescence spectrometry was the first non-destructive technique for analysing surfaces and produced some remarkable results. The Water Research Association, UK, has been investigating the application of X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy to solid samples. Some advantages of nondestructive methods are no risk of loss of elements during sample handling operations, the absence of contamination from reagents, etc. and the avoidance of capital outlay on expensive instruments and highly trained staff. 

This non-destructive technique is a very suitable tool for rapid in-line analysis of inorganic additives in food products (Price and Major, 1990 Anon, 1995). It can be readily used by non-skilled operators, and dry materials can be pressed into a pellet or simply poured into a sample cup. The principles of this technique related to food analysis are described by Pomeranz and Meloan (1994). A useful Internet site is http //www.xraysite.com, which includes information about different XRF instruments from various companies. Wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WD-XRF) or bench-top energy dispersive (ED-XRF) instruments are available. XRF is a comparative technique, thus a calibration curve needs to be established using food products of the same type as those to be... 

Raman spectroscopy is a non-destructive technique that is used in cosmochemistry for identification of minerals and to evaluate the bonding and composition of organic molecules. The technique does not require special sample preparation raw rock samples, polished sections, fine-grained powders, and liquids can be analyzed. Raman spectroscopy is the basis for several instruments that are under consideration for upcoming NASA missions. 

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