1 November 2017
The WA Branch’s technical programme for the year culminated with a visit to Microanalysis Australia’s facilities in East Perth hosted by Lead Consulting Scientist Nimue Pendragon and Analytical Scientist Owen Carpenter.
The evening began with a delectable spread of canapes and beverages before proceeding with a tour of the laboratory and its equipment including gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, FTIR, SEM with EDS, optical microscopy and x-ray diffraction facilities.
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A laser optical profilometer, metallurgical testing equipment and a particle sizing and counting device were also presented to guests.
Throughout the tour and subsequent presentation, examples of problems solved were presented to the audience. These included failure analyses of polymers, characterisation of coating materials, corrosion products, quantifying corrosion pitting and identification of foreign contaminants in lubricants and liquids.
The audience also received an overview of the Microanalysis team’s capabilities in petrography, mineralogy and dangerous goods testing.