Introduction to Failure Analysis

Topic 5
5.1 Engineering Products

Engineering Products
An engineering product is designed and
manufactured to perform specific functions over a
period of service life.

Its history includes 3 main stages:

Engineering Service /
Manufacturing
Design Performance
5.1 Engineering Products

Engineering Products
Engineering Design
Engineering design is essentially a decision-making
process by which a product can be manufactured at
a reasonable cost.
Differences in design, which will affect performance,
can be related to the extent of engineering analysis
made by the designer. Parameters included in such
analysis are:
Geometry and dimensions of different parts
Types of materials used and their specifications
Fabrication and assembly techniques
Service conditions
5.1 Engineering Products

Engineering Products
Manufacturing
Once the engineering drawing for the product is
developed, specifying the design parameters, a
prototype is made and tested.
Where necessary, further modification of the design
is made so that the product meets specification.
Then the design is materialised into a commercial
product by a manufacturer.
The material selected usually governs the
manufacturing process.
5.1 Engineering Products

Engineering Products
Service Performance
Once commercialised, the product goes into service
to meet its functional requirements.
Operating procedures to start-up and shut-down,
maintenance procedures and maintenance schedule
should also be specified.
5.2 Failure of Engineering Products

Failure of Engineering Products

Definition of Failure
When an engineering product ceases to perform one
or more of its functions well before its expected
service life, it is said to fail.
5.2 Failure of Engineering Products

Failure of Engineering Products

Definition of Failure
Failure can be defined on several different levels.
A system or component operates but does not perform its
intended function a loss of function. For example, a jet
engine runs but can only produce partial thrust,
insufficient for an aircraft to take off.
A system or component performs its function but is
unreliable or unsafe loss of service life. For example, a
wire rope for an lift has sustained fatigue fractures of
some of the individual wires. Even though the wire rope
continues to function, it is in an unsafe condition, and
therefore considered a failure.
A system or component is inoperable. For example,
fracture of pump shaft causes the impeller to seize.
5.2 Failure of Engineering Products

Failure of Engineering Products

Even though designers and manufacturers continue
to strengthen the links among design,
manufacturing, and performance, failures still occur
and will continue to occur for one reason or the
other.
Failures can cause loss of lives, unscheduled
shutdowns of plants, increase maintenance and
repair costs as well as costly litigation and damages.
Any type of failure can be expected to occur at
the weakest link in the chain of engineering
design manufacturing service.
5.2 Failure of Engineering Products

Failure of Engineering Products

Examples:
In an application, a component is subject to fatigue
loading. Premature failure due to fatigue can still
occur even when the best material known for fatigue
resistance is used, if the components geometry is
not properly designed for fatigue. In this case, the
weakest link is the components geometry i.e.
design.
A welded pipe used to carry gas at high temperature
can fail at the welding if the material used has
excellent resistance to heat but poor weldability.
Here the weakest link would be incompatibility of
material with fabrication technique.
5.2 Failure of Engineering Products

Failure of Engineering Products

Examples:
The repeated bending of a paper clip in opposite
directions would lead to its breakage easily.
However, the paper clip isnt designed to function
under such repeated bending. Here the weakest link
would be the service condition i.e. inappropriate use
of the product.
5.2 Failure of Engineering Products

Failure of Engineering Products

Imperfect vs Defective Products
Perfect is usually connected with the ideal. However,
ideal does not exist in practice, but it does give an
upper limit.
For example, a car engines function is to convert heat energy from
the burning of fuel to useful mechanical energy to drive the car.
Ideal situation would be to have 100% efficiency. However, this is not
possible there is heat lost thru various avenues friction,
thermal gradients.
Ideal efficiency is a useful guide for designers and manufacturers to
work towards. With current technology, there are acceptable
levels of efficiency. When the efficiency drops below those levels,
the engine is said to be inefficient or defective.
5.2 Failure of Engineering Products

Failure of Engineering Products

Imperfect vs Defective Products
Real product can be seen as consisting of
imperfections in a perfect product i.e.
Real Product = Perfect Product + Imperfections
Imperfections
They are flaws that can be accommodated by the product
without adversely affecting its functional requirements
over its intended service life.
They are deviations from perfection within acceptable
limits.
Defects
They are flaws which have exceeded the acceptable
limits.
5.3 Failure Analysis

Failure Analysis Definition & Objective

A failure analysis is an investigation carried out to
determine the cause of failure of a product, in order
to prevent its reoccurrence in the future.
Results of failure analysis investigations can be very
useful to designers of the same or similar products
as such knowledge aids the designer to improve on
reliability and durability.
Failure analysis investigations are also used for
litigation and insurance claims. This makes it
important to use clear and proper technical terms in
the investigation report to avoid confusion.
5.3 Failure Analysis

Failure Analysis Definition & Objectives

Identifying the deficiencies of material properties
through failure investigations can lead to
development of new materials or improvement of
properties in existing materials.
5.3 Failure Analysis

Failure Analysis
Systematic process Failure Analysis is
of examining the designed to:
failed component to Identify Failure Mode
determine the root the way it failed
cause of failure and Identify Failure Site
to use such where failure initiated
information to Identify Failure
Mechanism physical
eventually improve phenomena of the
reliability. failure
Determine the Root
Cause design, defect
or loads that lead to
failure
Recommend Failure
Preventive Measures
5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

Failure Analysis General Procedure

1. Background Information
2. Collection and Preservation of Samples
3. Preliminary Visual Examination & NDT
4. Metallurgical Examination Optical & SEM
Microscopy
5. Chemical Analysis
6. Mechanical Tests
7. Simulation Tests / Measurements
8. Analysis & Report
5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

1. Background Information
Obtain the history of the component, including
manufacturing history and details of the failure.
Some important information about the
component:
Location, Name of component, Identification no.
Owner, User, Manufacturer
Function of item
Service life time in service, operating conditions
(stress, temperature, environment)
Material used, Specifications properties, heat
treatment
Manufacturing techniques, Specifications and codes
Fabrication procedures welding, bolting, adhesive
joining
Quality control reports during manufacturing, Service
and Maintenance records
5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

1. Background Information
Some important information about the failure:
Date and time of failure, Temperature, Environment
Extent of damage, Sequence of failure, Injuries
Stage of operation when failure occurred
Drawings, photographs of failure and adjacent
areas
Any service deviations that might have contributed
to failure
Observations by operating personnel on the failure
5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

2. Collection and Preservation of Samples

The failed component should be protected from
further damage / corrosion through appropriate
measures.
The protection process should not destroy
evidence.
For example, when transporting the broken
components, protect against the components from
moving and rubbing against each other.
When dealing with corroded samples, remove the
samples from the corrosive environment, dry them
but do not wash them as evidence may be washed
away.
5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

3. Preliminary Visual Examination & NDT

Visual examination phase involves
documenting and photographing all
significant information, so that the
information may be shown and
described.
Colour photographs are best especially Corrosion on metal grill
when showing contamination / corrosion,
burnt marks or temper colours.
Obtain as much information out of the
component before any destructive test is
performed.
NDT may be performed to find defects
which could have contributed to the Burnt mark on water heater
failure.
Location and orientation of any samples
cut from the component should be
properly recorded.
5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

3. Preliminary Visual Examination & NDT

For fractured components, macro-examination of
fracture surface involves the following sequence of
steps:
Visual survey of the entire component to obtain an overall
understanding of the component.
Classify the failure ductile, brittle, fatigue etc
Determine the failure origin by tracing the fracture back to
its starting point(s).
Based on the fracture features and component
configuration, gauge the manner of loading (tension,
compression, bending, etc), the relative stress level (high,
medium, low), and the stress orientation.
Use high magnification examination to determine the
fracture mode (transgranular or intergranular) and to
detect other characteristics associated with the fracture.
5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

4. Metallurgical Examination
For fractured components, macro-examination of
fracture may be insufficient to properly evaluate the
fracture modes. Hence micro-fractographic
examination via the use of Scanning Electron
Microscope (SEM) is often necessary.
As fracture surfaces are
irregular in shape (rough), the
SEM is used as it provides an
excellent depth of field and
resolution over normal optical
light microscopes.
In addition, when the SEM is
fitted with an energy dispersive
spectrometer, elemental
analysis of the fracture surface
can be performed. This is useful
in analysing inclusions, foreign
material or corrosion products
on the fracture surface.
5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

4. Metallurgical Examination
From micro-fractography, it is possible to:
Study the rate of progress of the fracture
Characterise the ductility / brittleness of the material
Determine the fracture mechanism

Brittle fracture

Fatigue crack propagation

Ductile fracture
5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

4. Metallurgical Examination
Examination of the microstructure of the material is
also necessary to understand the properties of the
material.
Microstructural examination involves cutting the
sample, mounting, grinding, polishing and etching so
as to reveal its structure for observation under light
optical microscope.

Mounted samples Optical microscope

Grinding / polishing
5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

4. Metallurgical Examination
The microstructure of a material
affects the properties and
behaviour of the material.
Through microstructural
examination, errors in material
processing, heat treatment, surface
treatment and welding can be Welding cracks
revealed.
The microstructure of a material
also helps in determining what
processing methods and
treatments were actually performed
on the component, whether
processing steps were omitted or
incorrectly done.
SCC in stainless steel
5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

5. Chemical Analysis
Chemical analysis is used to determine whether the
material grade used is indeed as specified for the
component.
Wrong material could be used as mixed up can occur
at the mill, warehouse or manufacturing plant.

Elements AISI 316 AISI 316L

Carbon 0.08 max 0.03 max
Manganese 2.0 max 2.0 max
Silicon 1.0 max 1.0 max
Nickel 10-14 10-14 Table:
Chemical composition of
Chromium 16-18 16-18 austenitic stainless steel
Molybdenum 2-3 2-3 grades 316 and 316L
5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

6. Mechanical Tests
Mechanical properties of materials
need to be determined to establish
whether they are capable of
withstanding the loads applied
during operation.
Mechanical properties would include
hardness and other related to the
failure, such as toughness, fatigue,
creep strength etc.
There are many international test
procedures for establishing Tensile test
mechanical properties, and these
should be used. The measured
properties are to be compared to the
specifications and to typical property
data for the grade to reveal any
abnormality.
5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

7. Simulation / Measurement Tests

Occasionally, a simulation of the environmental
conditions encountered during service needs to be
done to ascertain the suitability of the material to the
environmental conditions.
For example, improper heat treatment can render the
material susceptible to certain attack. Hence simulation of
the heat treatment is valuable for confirmation purposes
as well as for further testing.
Certain simulation involves accelerated testing to
obtain the desired information in a reasonable length
of time. However interpretation of accelerated test
data must be done with care.

Salt spray test

5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

7. Simulation / Measurement Tests

Examination of similar components that did not fail in
service can be helpful in evaluating the significance
of anomalies observed during the investigation.
Simulations may be performed on the acceptable
part and results compared to similar test data on
failed component.
5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

8. Analysis & Report

This involves a collation of all data, observations,
evidence and interpreting them in totality, to establish
the cause of failure.
Observations made should be cross-checked against
the history of the part and any contradictions noted.
Such contradictions could reveal possible cause of
failure.
Most failures are caused by more than one factor,
although frequently one factor may predominate. The
investigator may need to draw on his expertise and
experience to judge which factor is most important in
contributing to the failure.
5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

8. Analysis & Report

In the course of the analysis, when considering the
design, operation and environment of the failed
component, questions raised would include:
What was the sequence of the failure?
Were there one or more than one initiation sites? Where
are these sites? Near stress concentrator?
How long was the crack present? Fresh? Heavily
oxidised?
What was the load intensity? Type of load? Static, cyclic or
intermittent?
What was the failure mechanism?
What was the operating condition temperature,
environment? Critical to the failure mechanism?
Is wear a factor? Is corrosion a factor?
Was the proper material used? Is a better material
required?
Was the quality of material acceptable? Meet
specifications?
5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

8. Analysis & Report

Was the correct heat treatment / manufacturing process
used?
Was the component properly assembled? Aligned?
Was the component repaired and done so properly?
Was the component properly maintained? Lubrication?
Was the failure caused by service abuse?
Can the design be improved to prevent similar failures?
Are failures likely in other similar pieces of equipment or
units?
What can be done to prevent failures in them?
As the cause(s) of failure cannot always be
determined with certainty, regardless what the
investigator tries, then what he considers to be the
most probable cause(s) or factors, together with
other legitimate possibilities, should be stated.
5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

8. Analysis & Report

The report analysing the failure should be written in a
clear, concise and logical manner. It should be
structured with sections covering:
Description of the failed component
Conditions at the time of failure Introduction
Background and history important to the failure
Mechanical and metallurgical examination of the
failure Results /
Evaluation of the quality of the material Findings
Discussion of results / findings
Discussion of any anomalies Discussion /
Discussion on the mechanism or possible Conclusions
mechanisms that caused the failure

Recommendations for the prevention of future Recommen-

occurrences or for action to be taken with similar
pieces of equipment dations
5.4 Failure Analysis Procedure

Failure Analysis
Performing failure analysis is a very challenging and
exciting job. The investigator must have a sound
background in the areas that are central to the testing
and analytical work.
Analysis of failures over the years has expanded the
practical knowledge for processing and product
development, and also contributed to basic scientific
insights.
Most failures could easily be prevented if well-
documented procedures and precautions are taken.