UNIVERSITI TENAGA NASIONAL

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

MEMB221 - MECHANICS AND MATERIALS LAB

(INFORMAL REPORT)
EXP.TITLE: MICROSTRUCTURE ANALYSIS

NAME

: NAGA SHIVANATH RAU

STUDENT ID

: ME095552

SECTION

:4A

GROUP

:6

ACADEMIC YEAR : SEMESTER 2 2016/2017

INSTRUCTOR

: PUAN SHAHIDA BEGUM

TABLE OF CONTENT

CONTENTS

PAGE NUMBER

OBJECTIVE

OBSERVATION

ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

DISCUSSION

5-6

CONCLUSION

REFERENCE

OBJECTIVE AND PURPOSE OF THIS EXPERIMENT

The main objective of this experiment carried out is to be familiar and get to used with
metallography techniques such as grinding process, polishing process and etching process.
Besides that, another purpose of this experiment is to learn the methods to operate the
metallurgy microscope. To study and investigate the microstructure of metal and alloy is also
one of the important objective of this experiment.

OBSERVATION
The surface of the specimen was uneven at the beginning of this experiment. After
performing the grinding process using 4 different mesh of silicon carbide paper, the surface
of the specimen becomes even and fine. Then the specimen was polished to obtain shinning
and better surface. Then the specimen studied using the metallurgy microscope.The surface
of the specimen has been changed once the etching process took place.

ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

Diagram 1

Diagram 2

Diagram 3

DISCUSSION
The first process carried out in this experiment is the grinding process.This process
accomplished by decreasing the abrasive grit size sequentially to obtain the required fine
surface.Then the specimen undergoes polishing process where the surface of the specimen is
polished to obtain better surface finish. Then, etching process is carried out to obtain the
actual microstructural features such as grain boundaries, phases, and other microstructural
properties by immersing the specimen into the chemical solution for 3second and 30 seconds.
Then,the specimen is investigated by using the metallurgy microscope where the surface of
the specimen observed by using the reflective light of the microscope. Image producewill be
magnified and focused using the reflectivity of the light till a clear image is produced. Then
the microstructural properties can be obtained.
There might be some possible error while conducting this experiment which might affect the
results. One of the possible error that might occur is during the grinding process when surface
of the specimen is misaligned on silicon carbide paper where the surface of the specimen will
not grind fully. Besides that, excessive lubricant on the surface of the specimen will affect the
image of microstructure
Diagram 1 showed in the results part is the image of original specimen.Meanwhile, Diagram
2 is surface of the specimen after the grinding process which has been obtain by using the
metallurgy microscope. Diagram 3 is the image of the specimen after the etching process
where the specimen has been immersed in the chemical solution for 3 seconds and Diagram 4
shows the image of the specimen after etching process for 30 seconds.
The difference between before and after-etching process is the grain boundaries and grain
size of the specimen. Before this etching process, the grain boundaries and size of the grain is
really hard to determine. After this etching process the grain boundaries and size of the grain
can be clearly seen.
The boundaries of metallic grains can corrode very quickly when the appropriate etchant is
used, highlighting the edges of the grains and making it possible to determine their size and
shape. If the specimen is kept too long in the chemical,the pits which is caused by the
chemical attack tends to grow and obscure the main features to be observed.
Grain is strengthen by the grain boundary and will improve the mechanical properties such as
ductility,strength and corrosion resistance through a systematic grain boundary is the
relationship between grain and grain boundary with mechanical properties of materials.
Other than metallurgy microscope,X-ray microtomographicwhich can generate a 3D
microstructure from 2D cross-sectional images of the material and 3D compositional
microstructure where microscopic distribution of material compositions in a material sample
can be obtained using a data constrained modelling technique where a software
implementation of this technique is already available This equipment can be used to
investigate the morphology and microstructure.

The most critical part of any building material is its structure. The structure of a material is
related to its composition, properties, processing history and performance. And therefore,
studying the microstructure of a material provides information linking itscomposition and
processing to its properties and performance. Interpretation of microstructures requires an
understanding of the processes by which various structures are formed. Physical Metallurgy
is the science which gives important clarifications of the microstructures, through
understanding what is going on is inside a metal amid the different handling steps.
Metallography is the study of planning examples, inspecting the structures with a magnifying
instrument and translating the microstructures.Microstructural analysis is also used to gain
information on how the material was produced and the quality of the resulting material.
Microstructural features, such as grain size, inclusions, impurities, second phases, porosity,
segregation or surface effects, are a function of the starting material and subsequent
processing treatments. The microstructural features of metals are well defined and
documented, and understood to be the result of specific treatments. These microstructural
features affect the properties of a material, and certain microstructural features are associated
with superior properties.

CONCLUSION
The objective and purpose of the experiment are successfully accomplished. The
metallography techniques such grinding process, polishing process and etching process has
been learned from this experiment. The way to operate the metallurgy microscope also has
been educated throughout this experiment.The purpose of etching process also has been
determine.

REFERENCES

Metallography, Materialographyand Specimen preparation. 2005.

http://materialography.org/.
Mechanics And Materials Lab Manual(MEMB221)
http://metals.about.com/od/metallurgy/a/Metallographic-Etching.htm