INTRODUCTION

Microstructure analysis is an art and science of preparing,interpreting and

analyzing microstructure in real engineering material applications to
understand and study the behavior,the grain structure of the materials and
its performance.Meanwhile,metallurgy is the of microstructural features of
materials.Metallography involved three main steps in order conduct the
microscopic analysis of the material.The steps which is grinding,polishing
and etching is involved in this experiment.
Grinding
Grinding is required to ensure the specimen surface is flat and parallel to
reduce the damage produced during sectioning.This process accomplished
by using four different grit of sand paper to get the desired smoothness.
Polishing
After grinding,the specimen will be polished using the polishing device where
the diamond particles and lubricants is used during this process.The
polishing is using 6micrometer as rough polishing and 3micrometer as final
polishing until the specimen have mirror surface.
Etching
Ethcing is the process where the specimen is immersed into chemical
solution for a while.Etching is important to make the microstructure of the
material clearer.

OBJECTIVE:

To be familiar with metallography techniques such as grinding,polishing

and etching.
To be familiar with metallurgy microscope.
To investigate the microstructure of metal.

DATA AND OBSERVATIONS

Sample

: Mild Steel

Silicon Carbide paper

: 180 grit
: 320 grit
: 400 grit
: 500 grit

Diamond paste

: 6 micron and 1 micron

Alcohol solution

: Acetone

Etching solution

: Hydrochloric acid (HCl)

Microscope lens

: S.plan M40, 0.65 infinity/0

After grinding
and smoother.

: Surface of the sample became flat, parallel

After polishing
: 6 micron the surface of the sample became
shine and mirror.
: 1 micron the surface became even shinier and
more mirrorlike.
After etching (2-3 seconds)

:The surface become dull and rough.

After etching(3 and above)

:The surface more dull and rougher.

ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

Figure 1.After Polishing And Before Etching

Figure 2.After Etching 2-3 seconds.

Figure 3.After Etching 30 seconds.

According to the figure 1,we can see that the surface is not uniformly
flat.This is due to the damaged created during grinding section.After etching
2-3 second,grain boundries can be seen clearer and become dull(Figure
2).Figure 3 shows that the surface become more dull.
DISCUSSION
Metallography is the study of microstructural features of materials.The
structure studied by metallography are indicative of the properties and
hence the performance of material in service.This process is also to check
the effectiveness of heat treatment such as annealing.Metal specimens is
commonly being grinded,polished and etched with Hydrochloric solution.The
etching process is used to bring out the grain structure so that when
analysed under microscope,the grain structure can be seen clearly.
The metallography involved three main steps which is grinding,polishing and
etching.The specimen will be grinded with four different Silicon carbide paper
starting with the coarsest and the smoothest to ensure the surface is flat and
smooth.
Then,the specimen is polished with 6micron diamond as the rough polishing
and 3micron for the final finishing.The result,the specimen will become
shinier and mirrorlike surface.
Next,the specimen was etched using chemical solution.The specimen
immersed into solution for 2-3second to bring out the grain structure.For
second etching,the metal immersed for more than 3 second and the metal
was observed under microscope to observe the metal structure.The etching
by more than 3 seconds can change the metal properties.
Last but not least,the specimen was observed under microscope.For the
first,after polishing before etching,the structure is flat and smooth.After
etching 2-3 second,the grain structure and boundries become clearer.After
etching more than 3 second,the microstructure become darker and the grain
structure become smaller and smaller.
Annealing and quenching are some examples of heat treatments. Annealing
involves heating the metal to a specific temp and keeping it there for a time
before allowing it to cool. Quenching involves heating a metal to a particular
temp and then cooling it suddenly in oil or water. These procedure will alter
the crystalline structure of the mild steel and hence its physical
properties.The microstructure is applied in almost real engineering
applications such as welding and structural applications.

CONCLUSIONS
In this experiment,the principle of microstructure analysis is clearly
understood.The steps of grinding,polishing and etching is carried out and
well understood.Hence after the three steps,the specimen was observed
under microscope.The grain structure is clearly seen also the grain
boundries.The main observation of the microstructure of the specimen is
ferrite and pearlite.Lighter area is ferrite and darker area is pearlite.

REFERENCE

Semester 2 2015/2016. MEMD221 Materials Laboratory Manual. COE,

Uniten. pp 61-64.