Orrvilon’s laboratory is vertically-integrated for in-house testing of materials, such as carbon steel, stainless steel, copper, aluminum, base materials, metallic powders, composites, plastics and thermoplastics. The laboratory is staffed by qualified personnel and supports company-wide projects and research and development.

Mechanical Testing

Tensile, Charpy Impact, Thermal Conductivity, Young’s Modulus, Bend, Hardness, Shear, Compression, Melting Point Analysis, Density

Material Coating Testing

Cross Cut, Pull-Off, Drop Impact, Abrasion, Emissivity, Thermal Expansion, Coefficient of Friction

Chemical Testing

Elemental Analysis of metals and dissolved materials, Gravimetric Chemical Analysis, Corrosion Bend

Physical Testing

Powder Surface Area, Powder Particle Size, Tap Density

Other Testing

Scanning Electron Microscope with Circular Backscatter Detector and  EBSD, Autoclave for Artificial Environment, Automatic Microhardness

Boron Carbide Content Testing

To ensure the correct loading of boron carbide is achieved in Metamic HT two independent analysis are performed. Wet chemistry analysis is performed on each billet of Metamic HT, records and archival samples are maintained of each analysis. Neutron attenuation testing is performed upon each lot of Metamic HT, boron carbide content is then derived from B-10 areal density. To ensure reliability of testing, neutron attenuation testing can be performed at 3 university reactors: Rhode Island Nuclear Science Center, University of Maryland, Penn State University.

Elemental Analysis

Elemental analysis of aluminum powder is conducted on an ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma- Optical Emission Spectrometer) instrument. Detects trace elements in aluminum samples by relating wavelengths and intensity of excited state electrons to concentrations within a aqueous sample. Trace elemental composition can be tested up to parts per billion concentration in samples.

Partial Size Distribution

Aluminum powder size distribution is tested using a Sympatec® Hellos Instrument. Metamic HT aluminum powder partial size is strictly controlled to ensure uniform properties of powder from lot to lot.

BET Surface Area Testing

Aluminum 1100 powder specific surface area (m2/g) is measured by 2 identical Micromeretic® Tristar II units. In-house testing of surface area provides immediate information for the evaluation of newly received lots of aluminum powder. The developed procedure is optimized for metallic powders.