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8
to
1
4
in., in diameter.)
Since the 1970s, the SEM has become the most common instrument of use for high-m
agnification examination
of the fracture surface today (variable pressure SEM for polymeric materials). O
ptical light fractography is still used today for examination of glasses, but th
e common tool of choice for metallic materials is the SEM, in part
because of the increased depth of field and higher magnification. Although optic
al light fractography produces
important information regarding fracture surface features, the ability to examin
e detail on the fracture surface is
limited by a maximum magnification of 1000 to 1500 diameters, small depth of fie
ld, and limited resolution.
In some ways, ready availability of the SEM also has limited detailed examinatio
n by TEM, because of the
ability to place large sections in the microscope for examination in conjunction
with reasonably high resolution
and without the difficulties in preparing and using fracture surface replicas. H
owever the higher resolution of
the TEM still remains the tool of choice for examination of fine detail on fract
ure surfaces and to obtain a more
complete understanding of fracture processes such as cleavage (Ref 11). Nonethel
ess, it is still important to
remember that the higher resolution capability of the TEM does not guarantee bet
ter understanding. It is the
self-consistent data gathered over a range of magnifications that provides under
standing.
Additional tools and techniques also have become available, including energy dis
persive x-ray spectroscopy
(EDS or WDS), the Auger microscope, the variable-pressure SEM, the atomic-force
microscope and others.
These tools have made possible answers to several long-standing questions of imp
ortance, such as an improved
understanding of temper embrittlement in steels. Advancement in the quantitative
understanding of fracture also
continues. For example, two relatively recent symposia on fracture in
1996 and 1997 (Ref 12 and 13)
demonstrate the continued close coupling between fracture mechanics, mac
roscopic and microscopic
continuum mechanics, finite element analysis, dislocation theory, and fr
actography. Better quantitative
understanding of fracture progression and of its microscale appearance
and mechanism facilitate potential
scaling to fabricated engineering components.
Several compilations of fractographic information (albeit dated in some instance
s) are also available for metals,
polymers, ceramics, and composites. Examples include Ref 14, 15, 16, 1
7, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
References 14 and 18 contain polymers. References 15, 16, 17, 18, 19,
20, 21, 22, 23, 24 (including
Fractography, Volume 12 of ASM Handbook) contain metals, and Ref 18 contains com
posites. Although not an
atlas of fractographs, another text (Ref 25) contains several fractographs of me
tals, polymers, ceramics, and
composites, as well as discussion of the relationship between microstructure and
fractographic appearance.