Chances and limits of computer tomography in materialographic investigations

The spectacular perceptions into the volume of structural parts which can be achieved by computer tomography (CT) readily give the impression that materialographic microsection examinations can be omitted. The display of the volume, which is three-dimensional, permits to detect pores and their distribution or measure inner structures in a non-destructive way at an accuracy which has been unknown up to date. A failure analysis makes it possible to locate and assess damage or defects without interfering with the material composite. The CT also enables to non-destructively investigate structural parts which contain liquid, rubber-like or hazardous substances and, hence, are accessible to a microsection analysis only under certain conditions