LTI Testing Services Accredited by A2LA
Laboratory Testing Inc. (LTI) has expanded its accreditation with The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA). Many materials testing services under the umbrellas of mechanical testing and chemical testing have been added to the lab’s scope of accreditation, which previously included calibration and dimensional testing services. The lab’s A2LA certificates state that LTI is accredited in accordance with the recognized International Standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005 (General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories).
The following tests have been added to the A2LA accreditation held by Laboratory Testing Inc.:
- Mechanical Testing – Hardness, Tensile and Proof Load, Jominy Hardenability, Expansion (Pin test), Flattening, Conductivity, Flare, Fastener, Bend, Stress Rupture, Hydrogen Embrittlement, Impact (Charpy), Drop Weight, Metallographic Evaluation, Weld and Braze Evaluation, and Failure Analysis.
- Chemical Testing – Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES), Wet Chemistry, Inductively Coupled Spectroscopy (ICP-AES and ICP-MS), Combustion/Fusion (LECO), Portable X-ray Fluorescence, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Analysis, Corrosion Susceptibility, Salt Spray, and Humidity Exposure.
Laboratory Testing Inc. received its first A2LA accreditation certificate in 1989 for dimensional testing and added a certificate for calibration in 2001. The lab has continued to expand the scope of accredited testing and calibration services over the past 20 years. All of LTI’s current accreditations are valid until March 31, 2013 and may be viewed on the company website. http://www.labtesting.com/quality-accreditations.php.
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Destructive testing is performed to evaluate physical characteristics of materials, such as strength, ductility, hardness and composition, and to determine susceptibility to corrosion. The information is most often used in material selection or failure analysis. This testing is performed on samples of material known as specimens or coupons that are prepared by machining to exacting dimensions and other precise requirements
Turning is performed on a lathe by rotating a part against a stationary cutting tool to center and turn in diameter. This is a required step for all round specimens including tensile, stress rupture, gleeble, jominy, rotating beam and fatigues, since rough-cut specimens are usually square in shape. In addition to further refining specimen dimensions, the turning process reduces the gage length and threads the ends when required by fixturing on test machines.
Grinding is the finish step for many types of specimens including charpy, hardness, compact tension and macro specimens used in metallurgical examinations. During grinding, a rotating abrasive wheel smooths the surface to give the material a refined look or to attain the desired finish. When required, this process can be used to create a high-quality surface finish to 32 Ra (roughness average) or better.
