Abstract
A comprehensive scheme is described for the examination of included materials occurring in steels using the newer physical techniques. The material is isolated by extraction replicas in a form suitable for examination by optical and electron microscopy, electron and X-ray diffraction, and X-ray fluorescent and spectrographic analysis.
Application of the scheme allows the precise form and identity of the included material to be determined, even when only small amounts of specimen are available. The extraction replica method enables particles up to about 50 μ and less than 0.01 μ in size to be satisfactorily isolated and retained for examination. The possibility of modification of the included material during isolation is small because only mild chemical treatments are used. The scheme has been satisfactorily applied so far to iron and alloy carbides and nitrides, and simple and mixed oxides and sulphides present in steels.