Fracture
Fractured products can be examined using fractography, an especially useful method for all broken components using macrophotography and optical microscopy. Although polymers usually possess quite different properties to metals, ceramics and glasses, they are just as susceptible to failure from mechanical overload, fatigue and stress corrosion cracking if products are poorly designed or manufactured.
Scanning electron microscopy or ESEM is especially useful for examining fracture surfaces and can also provide elemental analysis of viewed parts of the sample being investigated. It is effectively a technique of microanalysis and valuable for examination of trace evidence. On the other hand, colour rendition is absent in ESEM, and there is no information provided about the way in which those elements are bonded to one another. Specimens will be exposed to a partial vacuum, so any volatiles may be removed, and surfaces may be contaminated by substances used to attach the sample to the mount.
Read more about this topic: Forensic Polymer Engineering