SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Surface Metrology for Corrosion Analysis

	Photo of a crevice corrosion site.
	Two-dimensional profile across a crevice corrosion site.
	Three-dimensional profile of a crevice corrosion site for characterizing penetration depth variation and measuring maximum penetration depth.

Surface metrology for corrosion analysis and interpretation is provided to a wide range of industrial and government clients by the Geosciences and Engineering Division of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). Surface metrology is the measurement of small-scale features on surfaces. A state-of-the-art laser profilometer is part of our suite of instrumentation for critical materials examinations.

Laser Profilometry

Laser profilometry provides fast, accurate noncontact assessments of corrosion. Its detailed, multi-dimensional topographic profiles support analysis and interpretation of complex corrosion processes and related failures.

Advantages of laser profilometry include:

• Noncontact, fully automatic imaging

• 0.5 micron resolution

• 2D and 3D profiling of sample sizes up to 15 x 20 x 13 cm

For more information about surface metrology for corrosion analysis, or how you can  contract with SwRI, please contact Dr. Xihua He at xhe@swri.org, (210) 522-5194, or Dr. Todd Mintz at tmintz@swri.org, (210) 522-5282.

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Southwest Research Institute^® (SwRI^®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 11 technical divisions.

August 18, 2011