Positive Material Identification

Positive Material Identification (PMI) is a fast, non-destructive test that confirms what alloy a component actually is, verified in place with portable XRF, OES, and LIBS analyzers, so mismarked or mixed-up materials are caught before they cause a leak, fire, or failure.

Verification in the field

Positive Material Identification confirms the composition of installed and incoming components right where they sit. Our technicians are cross-trained in instrument technology, alloy composition, metallography, and industry standards, so they can identify materials without damaging your parts and keep your project moving.

What we can identify

We can identify nearly any metal or alloy, with or without coatings, ranging from common steels to exotic and specialty materials. That reach spans maraging alloys, everything from Armco iron pipe to API X80 line pipe, and international grades including Chinese and French specifications.

Alloy verification

Drawing on more than two decades of experience running Retro PMI programs, our technicians perform field-based alloy verification. When a case is complex, it escalates to our laboratory Ph.D.s, who resolve it using appearance, chemical composition, in-situ macro- and micro-structures, and hardness.

Ferrite content analysis

We operate a fleet of Fischer Ferritescopes to measure ferrite in duplex materials and to help detect the presence of sigma phase in duplex and super-duplex materials, with reporting that meets or exceeds all known specifications.

Carbon content analysis

Using OES and LIBS technology, we can measure carbon in L-grade stainless steels in amounts as small as 0.008%, and evaluate carbon in carbon steels and nickel alloys, confirming the low-carbon grades that resist sensitization.

Heat-treatment verification

Through in-situ metallography and hardness testing, our technicians differentiate heat-treatment states and grade precipitation-hardened alloys such as 17-4 PH and Inco 718.