Chemical Analysis Testing Services

Applus Reliable Analysis delivers chemical and thermal analysis that helps teams understand what a material contains and how it behaves as conditions change. You can use this work to confirm a formulation, investigate a failure, qualify a supplier, or respond quickly to a quality concern.

Engineers and quality leaders often face the same problem. A product changes, a batch drifts, or a field issue appears with no clear cause. Chemical and thermal analysis gives you defensible evidence so you can move from guesswork to action. You get clear results, practical interpretation, and reporting that supports internal decisions and external documentation needs.

Ready to get started and see why hundreds of manufacturers trust Applus+ Reliable Analysis with their compliance testing needs? Contact us and get your free consultation today.

Chemical Analysis: Clarifying Material Contamination & Composition

Primarily, when you need to identify an unknown, verify ingredients, or screen for contamination, chemical analysis gives you a direct path to answers. We support routine testing and advanced investigations across products, materials, and additives.

Teams often come to Reliable Analysis when they need to:

• Identify an unknown material, residue, or particle
• Detect trace impurities or contamination
• Compare suspect versus baseline material to isolate differences
• Support root cause investigations for defects or field failures
• Verify incoming raw materials and validate supplier changes
• Characterize additives, fillers, and processing aids

Method selection depends on the material and the question being asked. On one hand, FTIR is often an effective starting point for identifying polymers and organic materials. When more sensitivity or separation is needed, techniques such as GC-MS, SEM/EDS, and microscopy-based approaches help isolate and identify lower-level compounds, mixed materials, and contamination sources.

Thermal Analysis: Material Stability, Transitions, & Performance

Thermal analysis helps you understand transitions, stability, decomposition, and mechanical response as temperature changes. This matters when you need to predict real-world behavior, explain a failure, or validate performance under expected use conditions.

You can use thermal analysis to:

• Evaluate thermal stability and decomposition behavior
• Compare material lots for consistency
• Assess transitions that affect performance, such as softening and glass transition behavior
• Measure response under load and temperature for design and material selection decisions
• Support troubleshooting when a component deforms, cracks, warps, or loses stiffness

Additionally, these methods are especially useful when you need to predict real-world behavior, explain a failure, or verify whether a material will perform as expected in service conditions.

Instrumentation and Test Methods

Applus+ Reliable Analysis selects methods based on your sample type, the decision you need to make, and the sensitivity required. We also guide sample selection so you do not waste time testing the wrong material.

Core capabilities include:

• FTIR spectroscopy
• DSC 
• DMA
• TMA
• TGA 
• SEM with EDS 
• GC with MS
• GC with FID
• UV Vis spectroscopy

Additionally, we also provide VOC testing, since many industries now require VOC data for products, materials, and emissions related evaluations. Labs commonly use GC MS methods such as headspace and thermal desorption approaches depending on the sample and question.

How Projects Typically Run

First, Reliable Analysis begins by defining the decision that needs to be made. This might involve confirming a formulation, identifying contamination, comparing material lots, or determining whether a change has caused a performance issue. By setting clear objectives, test labs select the appropriate methods and avoid unnecessary testing.

Second, we evaluate samples and context, reviewing sample condition, suspected failure modes, handling history, and any available baseline materials. Where possible, they recommend both a control sample and a suspect sample to ensure comparisons are meaningful.

Next, laboratories then execute testing according to a plan that matches the required sensitivity to the problem. Some investigations require an initial screening approach, followed by targeted testing once the data points to probable causes.

Finally, labs interpret results and document conclusions. Clients receive clear reports that connect data directly to the questions posed. If the results indicate further work is needed, test labs outline the next steps, enabling teams to make prompt decisions.

Common Applications for Chemical and Thermal Analysis

Thermal chemical analysis supports both product development and active troubleshooting by helping teams understand chemical composition, elemental composition, and material behavior under real-world conditions. Whether you are evaluating a new material, investigating a defect, or responding to a customer requirement, these methods provide data that supports better technical and business decisions.

Product and Process Decisions

You can validate raw materials, confirm incoming lots, and qualify alternate suppliers without relying only on incomplete certificates or assumptions about composition of materials. Testing can support chemical composition reviews, compositional analysis, and comparison of suspect and baseline samples when a formulation, source, or process changes. Thermal analysis methods such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) can also help assess glass transition, thermal stability, and other changes that may affect performance, processing, or long-term consistency.

Quality Investigations

When a part fails, discolors, cracks, warps, or emits odor, analysis helps identify what changed and why. Chemical analysis can reveal contamination, formulation shifts, or unexpected ingredients, while thermal analysis can show changes in transition temperature, heat flow, thermal expansion, or decomposition behavior. In more detailed investigations, techniques used for elemental composition or EDS analysis may help isolate the source of a material difference. This supports corrective actions that target the actual root cause instead of treating surface-level symptoms.

Regulatory and Customer Requirements

VOC testing and material characterization often support compliance documentation, customer specifications, and internal governance requirements. In many cases, companies also need data related to chemical composition, thermal stability, or performance-related material properties to satisfy qualification or reporting expectations. Clear analytical results help teams respond to audit questions with confidence, support customer communication, and maintain documentation when products, materials, or suppliers are under review.

Industries We Support

Thermal chemical analysis supports industries where material composition analysis, consistency, and performance directly affect product quality, reliability, and compliance.

• Manufacturing and Industrial Products: Small shifts in material composition or processing can create major performance variation. Teams use analysis to verify consistency, investigate deviations, and support process control.
• Automotive and Transportation: Materials must withstand heat, fluids, stress, and long service life. Analysis supports supplier changes, defect investigations, and long-term stability evaluations.
• Electronics and Electrical Products: Residues, contamination, and material selection issues can contribute to field failures. Analytical work helps identify unknowns and isolate likely causes.
• Aerospace and Defense Supply Chains: Programs often require strict control of materials, traceability, and documentation. Chemical and thermal analysis supports qualification, change control, and troubleshooting.
• Building Products and Consumer Materials: VOC and emissions concerns, odor issues, and formulation verification are common drivers for testing and material characterization.

Frequently Asked Questions For Analysis Testing

What is the difference between DSC and TGA testing?

DSC testing, or differential scanning calorimetry, measures changes in heat flow as a material is heated or cooled. It is commonly used to evaluate melting, crystallization, and glass transition behavior. TGA testing, or thermogravimetric analysis, measures changes in sample weight as temperature increases. It is commonly used to assess decomposition, thermal stability, and material content changes.

When should I use FTIR analysis?

FTIR stands for Fourier-Transform Infrared. This analysis is often a strong first step when you need fast material identification for polymers, organics, residues, or unknown substances. It is commonly used to compare materials, verify chemical composition, and support contamination analysis. When FTIR alone is not enough, it may be paired with other methods such as GC-MS analysis or SEM/EDS.

Can you identify contamination or unknown materials?

Yes. Chemical and thermal analysis is often used to identify unknown particles, residues, fibers, additives, and contamination sources. Depending on the sample and the problem, testing may include FTIR analysis, GC-MS analysis, SEM/EDS, or other compositional analysis methods. This helps teams determine what changed and whether that change is linked to a quality or performance issue.

What is SEM/EDS used for?

SEM/EDS is commonly used to examine surface features, particles, and material differences at higher magnification while also helping evaluate elemental composition. This approach can support contamination analysis, defect investigations, and comparisons between suspect and baseline materials. It is especially useful when the goal is to isolate small contributors to a material or product failure.

Do you compare suspect and baseline samples?

Yes. Comparing suspect and baseline samples is one of the most effective ways to isolate differences in chemical composition, elemental composition, contamination, or thermal behavior. This type of comparison can help identify whether a material change, supplier difference, or processing issue contributed to the problem.

Do you offer VOC testing?

Yes. VOC testing is available for products, materials, and emissions-related evaluations. Companies often use VOC testing to support regulatory requirements, customer specifications, odor investigations, and internal quality programs. Depending on the sample and testing objective, methods may include headspace or thermal desorption approaches with GC-MS.

What industries use chemical and thermal analysis services?

Chemical and thermal analysis services are used across manufacturing, industrial products, automotive, transportation, electronics, electrical products, aerospace, defense supply chains, building products, and consumer materials. These industries rely on testing to support material characterization, supplier changes, product quality investigations, compliance documentation, and performance validation.

What do chemical and thermal analysis reports include?

Reports typically include a summary of the testing objective, the methods used, the findings, and practical interpretation tied to the original question. Depending on the project, reports may also include data tables, instrument outputs, material characterization results, and recommendations for follow-up testing when additional analysis is needed.

Request A Quote for Chemical and Thermal Analysis

Located in Madison Heights, Michigan, we deliver accurate data capture and processing that bridges real-word conditions with laboratory analytical testing, helping engineers validate durability, optimize designs, and meet regulatory demands efficiently.

Request a quote to start your chemical and thermal analysis project and get results you can use with confidence.

What you receive

You get outputs that work for both engineering reviews and management decisions.

You can expect:

• A clear summary of objectives, methods, and findings
• Data tables and instrument outputs appropriate to the method
• Practical interpretation tied to your question
• Documentation that supports internal quality processes and customer communication
• Optional recommendations for follow up testing if the results point to a likely root cause

Additional Testing Capabilities

Applus Reliable Analysis and their chemical testing laboratories support programs that need more than chemical and thermal analysis by pairing materials insight with validation in real use conditions. When you need to confirm how a material or component will hold up over time, we can extend your investigation with targeted testing that links lab findings to performance risk.