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Material properties: measurement, analysis and testing

In order to help manufacturers ensure the quality of their products and anticipate the risk of failures, LNE characterizes the materials they use by analyzing their chemical, physical, mechanical and structural properties, which makes it possible, among other things, to optimize their performance

Characterization services offered

The chemical, physical, mechanical and structural characteristics of the materials used in the manufacture of a product (finished product, semi-finished product, component part of the final product, etc.) have a decisive influence on its final performance and lifespan.

The characterization of materials is carried out by analyzing their properties through chemical, physical, and mechanical tests. This analysis allows manufacturers to optimize the performance of their materials and control the risk of failure, both during the design and during the use of the final product. It also makes it possible to adapt and improve them to meet technological or environmental requirements, but also to be able to choose them wisely according to their use.

In your sectors of activity where quality requirements are high (medical, aeronautics-defense, energy-nuclear, construction products, packaging, cosmetics, etc.), you need to ensure that :

Your materials have the expected characteristics
Their properties are reliable over time and in various environments
the risk of failures is controlled.

LNE characterizes your material samples by offering you the following services:

Material analysis to evaluate:
- His performance
- Its evolution over time
- Its compatibility with the end use of the product
- Causes of a malfunction of the final product
Evaluation of the material's conformity with regard to:
- Standards in force
- A customer specification
- New standards for solutions for the reuse of materials and the reincorporation of recycled and bio-sourced materials

Expertise deployed according to the need

Our know-how is based on our ability to formulate hypotheses for the qualification of your material in relation to the expected analysis objective: performance improvement, failure study, etc.

For metals-alloys, polymers, ceramics, or multi-materials, we can more specifically:

Propose the most suitable tests with regard to the use of your product or material
Interpret the analyses resulting from the characterizations and to explain the performance of the product
Suggest ways to improve the performance of your product
Search for and identify trace material using specific test methods
Travel to the site to study the design and manufacturing lines and their global environment in order to adapt the best analysis solutions.

Conformity assessment

Our experience in standards and regulations also allows us to assess the conformity of your products and to support you in their evolution or in the development of your new materials.

Custom-made test bench assembly

Design of test benches or adaptation of existing test benches to best meet the need for testing (mechanical, chemical, electrochemical).

Materials concerned

Materials and alloys, polymers, composites, ceramics, glass, composites, stones, paper/cardboard, paints, glues, coatings.

Services and analyses
Raw materials	Physico-chemical and mechanical characterisation, composition, container/content interactions, nanomaterials, biocompatibility, purity and pollution analysis
Structural and chemical analysis	Composition (deformation), dosage, impurities, morphology [powder: geometric characterisation and chemical structure], material structures
Characterisation of materials	Performance, morphology, structure, release studies, nanomaterials analysis, residual stress analysis (metals)
Surface characterisation	Coating, deposition, corrosion, wear, adhesion, friction, hardness, roughness, flatness, profilometry, etc.
Study of material failures	Loss of performance, deterioration (cracks, erosion, porosity, corrosion, etc.), breakage of parts, premature wear and tear, change in appearance, operating anomaly (noise, vibration, etc.), identification of a deposit or pollution, etc.
Ageing of materials	Fatigue-corrosion, standard or accelerated ageing (UV, environmental conditions (T°, humidity, etc.)), exposure to specific solutions (chlorine, etc.).
Lifetime study	Study of a specific chemical, physical, structural or mechanical property of the material: analysis possible thanks to LNE's multidisciplinary technical skills, combining measurements in acoustics, electricity, optics, heat, etc.). Support in interpreting results and identifying the causes of changes in the product's initial properties.
Study of recyclability and reusability	Study of the recyclability and reusability of stored materials by characterising the critical performance of products, in compliance with current standards. Assisting users in sampling the materials to be characterised (and in calculating uncertainties) to meet re-use requirements Analysing the transformation of plastics and the level of pollution for incorporation into recycled materials.
Supplementary benefits	Sensory analysis of products: building products, organoleptic testing of PE pipes for water transport

Services and analyses

Raw materials

Physico-chemical and mechanical characterisation, composition, container/content interactions, nanomaterials, biocompatibility, purity and pollution analysis

Structural and chemical analysis

Composition (deformation), dosage, impurities, morphology [powder: geometric characterisation and chemical structure], material structures

Characterisation of materials

Performance, morphology, structure, release studies, nanomaterials analysis, residual stress analysis (metals)

Surface characterisation

Coating, deposition, corrosion, wear, adhesion, friction, hardness, roughness, flatness, profilometry, etc.

Study of material failures

Loss of performance, deterioration (cracks, erosion, porosity, corrosion, etc.), breakage of parts, premature wear and tear, change in appearance, operating anomaly (noise, vibration, etc.), identification of a deposit or pollution, etc.

Ageing of materials

Fatigue-corrosion, standard or accelerated ageing (UV, environmental conditions (T°, humidity, etc.)), exposure to specific solutions (chlorine, etc.).

Lifetime study

Study of a specific chemical, physical, structural or mechanical property of the material: analysis possible thanks to LNE's multidisciplinary technical skills, combining measurements in acoustics, electricity, optics, heat, etc.).
Support in interpreting results and identifying the causes of changes in the product's initial properties.

Study of recyclability and reusability

Study of the recyclability and reusability of stored materials by characterising the critical performance of products, in compliance with current standards.
Assisting users in sampling the materials to be characterised (and in calculating uncertainties) to meet re-use requirements
Analysing the transformation of plastics and the level of pollution for incorporation into recycled materials.

Supplementary benefits

Sensory analysis of products: building products, organoleptic testing of PE pipes for water transport

Means and equipment

Our test benches are sized according to the technical and application needs of our customers (tension, compression, bending, shear, shock, creep, macro and micro-fratographic analysis, etc., under static or dynamic stress, with or without environmental constraints).

Testing protocols can be developed on a custom basis. They are adapted by taking into account the use of the material or product and its initial design in order to evaluate the best possible characterization method and obtain the most relevant results.

Nouveau : essais de performance mécanique à façon

Tensile machine for carrying out custom mechanical performance tests on finished products according to customer specifications or specific LNE protocols.

Determination according to normative references or according to specific protocols, of the mechanical characteristics of materials in tension, compression, shear and bending from -80°C to 1100°C over a range of forces from 1 N to 250 kN associated with strain measurements carried out using contact or video extensometers, or by instrumentation of specimens or products with strain gauges.

Additional characterization services

Thermal properties: measurement of thermal diffusivity, determination of thermal conductivity, etc.
Electrical and magnetic properties: measurement of resistivity/conductivity, permeability, etc.
Optical properties: photosensitivity...
Reaction to fire properties: regulatory tests, assessment of the risks of degradation, ignition and propagation, effluent analysis, etc.
Nanomaterials: Particle Size Distribution and Chemical Composition, Powder Powder Measurement, Specific Surface Characterization

Why choose LNE

A multidisciplinary laboratory, capable of offering a wide range of services for the characterization of materials and nanomaterials, allowing a perfect knowledge of matter and its properties.