100 Year Package - Metallurgical Testing of Outer Can Scope of Work

The 100 Year Package Outer Can presents a number of areas of interest for metallurgical and mechanical characterisation. These areas can be classed as; I. The deep draw can body itself (inside and outside surfaces) and any surface treatment (e.g. aqua blasting) used to relieve stress. II. The closure weld and heat effected zone III. The bar code or any similar feature used to identify the can. These areas can be characterised in a number of relatively simple ways: a. Crystallographic phases by x-ray diffraction (has the can manufacture introduced other phases which may influence the lifetime of the package ) b. Surface finish/topography (sites to initiate corrosion) c. Microstructure by etching (grain size and orientation, inclusions) and electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD). The grain size of metal relates to a number of mechanical properties. d. Residual stress by x-ray diffraction (areas of high residual stress are susceptible to stress corrosion cracking) e. Hardness (resistance of metal to deformation) The scope of metallurgical testing required is to investigate the 3 areas of interest identified above through characterisation techniques listed and conduct analysis of the results comparing to the existing THORP 3 in 1 SNM Package.