Effects of etchant stirring on the surface quality of the metallography sample

0575706 - ÚPT 2024 RIV GB eng C - Conference Paper (international conference)
Ambrož, Ondřej - Čermák, Jan - Jozefovič, Patrik - Mikmeková, Šárka
Effects of etchant stirring on the surface quality of the metallography sample.
Journal of Physics: Conference Series. Vol. 2572. Bristol: IOP Publishing, 2023, č. článku 012011. ISSN 1742-6588. E-ISSN 1742-6596.
[International Conference on Recent Trends in Structural Materials (COMAT 2022) /7./. Pilsen (CZ), 06.09.2022-08.09.2022]
R&D Projects: GA TA ČR(CZ) TN01000008
Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) LQ100652201
Program: Prémie Lumina quaeruntur
Institutional support: RVO:68081731
Keywords : robotization * metallography * etching * stirring * ultrasonication * structural steel
OECD category: Materials engineering
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/2572/1/012011

Despite its predominantly empirical nature, metallographic etching remains an important sample preparation method that enables microstructural characterization. The poor repeatability is due to the ignorance of etching mechanisms and the human factor, which is mainly associated with the conventional approach. This approach is most commonly practiced by manual immersion of the sample in the etchant. The solution should be gently stirred so that reaction products do not settle on the surface and uneven etching does not occur. Often, stirring is provided by the sample itself or by a magnetic bar. In terms of spatial orientation, etching with the polished surface facing upwards allows the surface to be observed during the process. Some authors recommend etching with the polished surface downwards to minimize the deposition of reaction products. In some cases, a vertical orientation of the sample is recommended to reduce pitting. In this paper, the effect of the etchant stirring method on the surface quality of a metallographic structural steel specimen will be presented. In addition to different etchant stirring methods, different spatial orientations of the sample will also be investigated. To ensure better repeatability and accurate etching time, the samples will be etched using our automated apparatus. The resulting surface of the samples will be analysed using light optical microscopy (LOM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The development of more reproducible etching methods is essential to obtain accurate microstructure information without artifacts and for advanced quantitative image analysis using deep learning.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0345446