ABSTRACT
Developing and using materials that are applicable at low temperatures as well as assuring their performance and durability requires physical and chemical characterization techniques that can be used to analyze them before, after, and possibly during their operation in service as well as in simulated conditions [Reed and Clark, 1983]. Various techniques are used to examine the surface and bulk properties of the material. Some of the techniques are nondestructive like those described in Chapter 5. The destructive test methods, and the ones that are used to remotely examine the surface nondestructively, are described in this chapter. Generally, image analysis is widely used to examine the physical structure of the surface of the material or structure that needs to be characterized. For materials and structures that are easily accessible to the surface, there are many applicable methods. Analysis of structures below the surface is done by techniques that provide insight and gauging of the internal characteristics, including stress and strain, and chemical composition. Many analytical techniques are used to examine low temperature materials. While
these techniques are covered widely in the literature, this chapter reviews some of the key ones in order to provide completeness to this book. The methods and their underlying principles are described in the following sections.
