This article presents examples of the visual fracture examination that illustrate the procedure as it applies to failure analysis and quality determination. It describes the techniques and procedures for the visual and light microscopic examination of fracture surfaces with illustrations. The article also describes microscopic and macroscopic features of the different fracture mechanisms with illustrations with emphasis on visual and light microscopy examination. The types of fractures considered include ductile fractures, tensile-test fractures, brittle fractures, fatigue fractures, and high-temperature fractures.

The analysis of composite materials using optical microscopy is a process that can be made easy and efficient with only a few contrast methods and preparation techniques. This article is intended to provide information that will help an investigator select the appropriate microscopy technique for the specific analysis objectives with a given composite material. The article opens with a discussion of macrophotography and microscope alignment, and then goes on to describe various illumination techniques that are useful for specific analysis requirements. These techniques include bright-field illumination, dark-field illumination, polarized-light microscopy, interference and contrast microscopy, and fluorescence microscopy. The article also provides a discussion of sample preparation materials such as dyes, etchants, and stains for the analysis of composite materials using optical microscopy.

This article describes the various aspects relating to the selection and preparation of ultrathin-section specimens of fiber-reinforced polymeric composites for examination by transmitted light microscopy. It provides information on the contrast-enhancement methods used by transmitted-light microscopy and optimization of microscope conditions. Examples of composite ultrathin sections analyzed using transmitted-light microscopy contrast methods are also presented.

This article provides information on the basic components of a light microscope, including the illumination system, collector lens, and optical and mechanical components. It describes optical performance in terms of image aberrations, resolution, and depth of field. The article discusses the examination of specimen surfaces using polarized light, phase contrast, oblique illumination, dark-field illumination, bright-field illumination, interference-contrast illumination, and phase contrast illumination. Special techniques and devices that may be used with the optical microscope, to obtain additional information, are also described. The article concludes with information on photomicroscopy and macrophotography.

This article introduces the concepts of electron and light microscopy with some general features of imaging systems and the ideas of magnification, resolution, depth of field, depth of focus, and lens aberrations as they apply to simple and familiar light-optical systems. In addition, it describes the differences between electron and light in the context of their respective microscopy techniques.