A novel ‘in-situ’ approach for the examination of the microstructure of metal artefacts. Principles and application to iron based armour elements

Abstract

The examination of the microstructure of metal artefacts allows a great deal of information to be obtained about the quality of the material used for manufacturing as well as information related to the technology of fabrication. Unfortunately accessing this information normally requires an invasive intervention on the artefact: a small fragment needs to be detached from the artefact, and mounted as a cross-section by an embedding procedure followed by observation under a metallographic microscope. This method is not always acceptable: museum curators are often reluctant to allow extraction of fragments from their artefacts, making a metallurgical study of these objects an impossible feat. In attempt to circumvent this difficulty, the authors are proposing to turn to a more benign method, that of ‘in-situ’ metallographic examination.