A measuring apparatus measure the amount of a metal catalyst supported on a sample that has a membrane of a metal catalyst layer containing the metal catalyst. The measuring apparatus includes a terahertz-wave emitting part that emits a terahertz wave in the range of 0.01 to 10 THz to the sample, a transmitted-terahertz-wave detection part that detects the electric field intensity of a transmitted terahertz wave that has passed through the sample, a storage that stores correlation information acquired in advance and indicating the correlation between the amount of the metal catalyst supported and the electric field intensity of the transmitted terahertz wave, and an amount-of-catalyst-supported acquisition module that acquires the amount of the metal catalyst supported on the sample, on the basis of the correlation information and the electric field intensity of the transmitted terahertz wave detected by the transmitted-terahertz-wave detection part.

A measuring apparatus measure the amount of a metal catalyst supported on a sample that has a membrane of a metal catalyst layer containing the metal catalyst. The measuring apparatus includes a terahertz-wave emitting part that emits a terahertz wave in the range of 0.01 to 10 THz to the sample, a transmitted-terahertz-wave detection part that detects the electric field intensity of a transmitted terahertz wave that has passed through the sample, a storage that stores correlation information acquired in advance and indicating the correlation between the amount of the metal catalyst supported and the electric field intensity of the transmitted terahertz wave, and an amount-of-catalyst-supported acquisition module that acquires the amount of the metal catalyst supported on the sample, on the basis of the correlation information and the electric field intensity of the transmitted terahertz wave detected by the transmitted-terahertz-wave detection part.

A fluorescent liquid penetrant is provided which includes a liquid medium having a plurality of fluorophores disposed therein. Upon excitation with a suitable light source, the penetrant exhibits a quantum yield greater than 40% (or in some embodiments, greater than 90%). In some embodiments, the fluorophore is a low-toxicity quantum dot. In some embodiments, the fluorophore has significantly reduced self-absorption, which allows for surface discontinuity depth measurement. Also disclosed are apparatuses for using these fluorescent liquid penetrants for non-destructive testing purposes. In some embodiments, these tests include measuring the depth of a discontinuity by analyzing photoluminescence intensity and/or photoluminescence peak position shift.

A non-contact, non-immersive method and apparatus are provided for accurately measuring quantitatively one or more elements in liquid metal or alloy samples using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). The method is particularly useful for process and/or quality control within the metallurgy industry for accurately and very quickly measuring minor component or impurity elements in liquid metal in the production process, without touching the liquid metal and without the need for cooling and solidifying samples for analysis. In the method and apparatus a pre-determined distance is dynamically maintained between emission receiving optics and the surface of a liquid sample being analysed and the instrument does not come in contact with the liquid metal surface. Liquid samples are heated and/or maintained at a desired temperature. For many elements, values for limit-of-detection, measurement repeatability and accuracy about or below 1 ppm are achieved using this method.

A new method for evaluating embrittlement of an amorphous alloy ribbon is provided. The method includes: pressing a pressurization member from one side to a plurality of positions of an amorphous alloy ribbon; scattering, in the amorphous alloy ribbon, pressurization portions where the pressurization member is pressed to form indentation; and evaluating embrittlement by the number or distribution of pressurization portions where cracks have occurred.

A new method for evaluating embrittlement of an amorphous alloy ribbon is provided. The method includes: pressing a pressurization member from one side to a plurality of positions of an amorphous alloy ribbon; scattering, in the amorphous alloy ribbon, pressurization portions where the pressurization member is pressed to form indentation; and evaluating embrittlement by the number or distribution of pressurization portions where cracks have occurred.

Provided is a method for determining a quality level of an iron and steel product. The method includes: obtaining a plurality of first parameters related to a quality of an iron and steel product; fusing the plurality of first parameters to obtain a comprehensive quality evaluation parameter; and determining a quality level of the iron and steel product based on the comprehensive quality evaluation parameter.

Provided is a method for determining a quality level of an iron and steel product. The method includes: obtaining a plurality of first parameters related to a quality of an iron and steel product; fusing the plurality of first parameters to obtain a comprehensive quality evaluation parameter; and determining a quality level of the iron and steel product based on the comprehensive quality evaluation parameter.

The invention involves a method for testing a damage tolerance property in an aluminum alloy part with the following steps: measure at least one property representative of a the part's tensile strength; use the property measured in step a) as input datum (x.sub.i) of a neural network estimator; estimate, using the estimator, the representative property of the part's tensile strength; the method being characterized in that it includes: consideration of an acceptance threshold and comparison of the property estimated at step c) to the acceptance threshold, taking into account a confidence interval; based on the comparison: consider that the part passes the test; or consider that the part does not pass the test.

The invention involves a method for testing a damage tolerance property in an aluminum alloy part with the following steps: measure at least one property representative of a the part's tensile strength; use the property measured in step a) as input datum (x.sub.i) of a neural network estimator; estimate, using the estimator, the representative property of the part's tensile strength; the method being characterized in that it includes: consideration of an acceptance threshold and comparison of the property estimated at step c) to the acceptance threshold, taking into account a confidence interval; based on the comparison: consider that the part passes the test; or consider that the part does not pass the test.