Materials Testing
Comprehensive materials testing solutions to evaluate the mechanical, thermal, chemical, and physical properties of polymers, coatings, adhesives, composites, metals, and specialty materials.
What Is Materials Testing?
Materials testing refers to the scientific evaluation of a material’s behavior under mechanical, thermal, chemical, and environmental conditions. It allows manufacturers, engineers, and researchers to understand how materials perform in real-world applications and under critical operating conditions.
Through materials testing, you can assess:
- Mechanical performance and durability
- Structural integrity and microstructure
- Thermal stability and transitions
- Chemical composition and purity
- Environmental and chemical resistance
- Compliance with industrial standards and regulations
- Root causes of material degradation or failure
By understanding how materials respond to different conditions, companies can improve product performance, prevent defects, reduce risk, and optimize manufacturing processes.
Applications of Materials Testing
Materials testing provides insights that support decision-making throughout the product lifecycle. Typical applications include:
- New product development and material selection
- Design validation and performance verification
- Quality control and batch release testing
- Process optimization and manufacturing improvement
- Failure prevention and reliability enhancement
- Competitive benchmarking and material comparison
- Raw material qualification and supplier evaluation
- Regulatory and standard compliance testing
- Troubleshooting of production and application issues
Example Testing Scenarios
- Tensile strength testing for engineering plastics used in structural parts
- Thermal stability evaluation of adhesives used in high-temperature environments
- Hardness testing of protective coatings and cured resins
- Impact resistance assessment for molded components and housings
- Moisture absorption studies for polymer materials under different humidity levels
- Aging and environmental exposure studies for outdoor applications
- Heat resistance testing for packaging films in hot-fill or sterilization processes
Materials We Test
Our laboratory supports testing for a wide range of materials used in industrial and consumer applications. Typical materials include:
We can also design custom testing programs for non-standard materials or specialized applications.
Our Materials Testing Capabilities
We offer a broad portfolio of materials testing services, categorized into mechanical, thermal, chemical, and physical property evaluations. Testing programs can be tailored to specific standards, customer specifications, or application requirements.
Mechanical Testing
Mechanical testing evaluates how a material reacts to applied loads, deformation, and stress. These tests are essential for understanding strength, stiffness, toughness, and long-term reliability.
- Tensile Testing: Tensile strength, elongation at break, elastic modulus
- Flexural Testing: Bending strength and stiffness for plastics, composites, etc.
- Compression Testing: Behavior under compressive loads and dimensional changes
- Hardness Testing: Shore, Rockwell, Vickers hardness for polymers, coatings, metals
- Impact Resistance: Charpy/Izod impact performance and toughness
- Adhesion & Peel Strength: Bonding performance of adhesives, sealants, coatings, laminates
- Nanoindentation: Micro-scale hardness and modulus for thin films, coatings, and small features
Mechanical testing helps determine whether a material is suitable for a specific design, load case, or safety requirement.
Thermal Testing
Thermal analysis provides insight into degradation behavior, melting and crystallization, curing, and glass transition phenomena. These properties are critical for processing, application performance, and long-term stability.
- DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry): Glass transition (Tg), melting point (Tm), crystallinity, curing behavior
- TGA (Thermogravimetric Analysis): Thermal stability, decomposition profiles, residual content
- DMA (Dynamic Mechanical Analysis): Viscoelastic behavior, storage/loss modulus, damping characteristics
- TMA (Thermomechanical Analysis): Dimensional changes with temperature, expansion, softening
- Vicat Softening Point: Softening temperature of thermoplastic materials
- Heat Deflection Temperature (HDT): Temperature at which a material deforms under load
Thermal testing supports material selection, formulation optimization, and quality assurance throughout the product lifecycle.
Chemical Testing
Chemical testing identifies composition, purity, trace components, and degradation pathways. It is crucial for validating formulations and ensuring performance consistency.
- FTIR Spectroscopy: Chemical structure and functional group identification
- Raman Spectroscopy: Material fingerprinting and structural characterization
- GC-MS / LC-MS: Identification and quantification of organic compounds and additives
- ICP Analysis: Elemental composition and trace metals
- Chemical Resistance Testing: Stability in solvents, acids, alkalis, and aggressive media
- Residual Solvent Analysis: Detection of volatile compounds remaining after processing
- Additive & Stabilizer Analysis: Plasticizers, antioxidants, UV stabilizers, fillers, and more
These tests reveal whether a material’s formulation is consistent, properly stabilized, and suitable for the intended environment.
Physical Property Testing
Physical property testing determines general characteristics related to appearance, density, structure, and behavior under specific conditions.
- Density & Specific Gravity: Bulk and apparent density
- Moisture Content & Water Absorption: Hygroscopic behavior and storage sensitivity
- Viscosity & Rheology: Flow behavior of liquids, pastes, and melts
- Particle Size Distribution: Granular and powder characteristics
- Surface Roughness & Texture: Topography of surfaces and coatings
- Colorimetry & Gloss Measurement: Color stability and visual appearance
- Microscopy / SEM Imaging: Microstructure, defects, interfaces, and morphology
Physical property testing is commonly used for quality control, benchmarking, and comparative studies between materials.
Industries We Serve
Our materials testing services support customers across multiple sectors, from high-tech to traditional manufacturing:
- Automotive and transportation
- Electronics and semiconductors
- Aerospace and aviation
- New energy and battery materials
- Medical devices and healthcare products
- Consumer products and household goods
- Chemicals and specialty chemicals
- Polymers, plastics, and rubber
- Adhesives, coatings, and inks
- Packaging, printing, and label materials
Standard projects: 5–10 working days
Rush service may be available depending on scope.
Compositional Analysis
Deformulation
Failure Analysis
Impurities Analysis
Surface Analysis
Composition & Materials ID
Materials Characterization
Advanced Testing Technologies
To ensure accuracy, repeatability, and high data quality, we operate a broad suite of advanced analytical instruments:
- Universal Testing Machines (UTM)
- DMA / DSC / TGA / TMA
- FTIR & Raman spectroscopy
- GC-MS / LC-MS
- SEM / EDS microscopy
- XRD / XRF
- Rheometers & viscometers
- Particle size analyzers
- Environmental chambers
Our laboratory continuously upgrades instrumentation and methods to align with current industry standards and emerging technologies.
What You Will Receive
Every materials testing project is delivered with a clear, structured report designed to support technical and business decisions. A typical report includes:
- Detailed test methods and procedures
- Equipment used and calibration status
- Raw data tables, graphs, and curves
- Expert analysis and interpretation of results
- Conclusions regarding material performance and suitability
- Recommendations for improvement, mitigation, or further testing
- Photographs and micrographs, where relevant
Reports can be customized to align with internal formats, regulatory requirements, or specific project needs.
Why Choose Us for Materials Testing?
Every materials testing project is delivered with a clear, structured report designed to support technical and business decisions. A typical report includes:
- Comprehensive testing portfolio across mechanical, thermal, chemical, and physical properties
- Experienced team with backgrounds in materials science, chemistry, and engineering
- High accuracy, repeatability, and robust quality management practices
- Fast turnaround times and flexible scheduling for urgent projects
- Capability to handle complex materials and challenging samples
- Confidentiality and secure handling of proprietary information
- Interpretation and recommendations, not just raw data