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[Repair Methods for Basic Machine Elements Im'. I

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REPAIR METHODS FOR BASIC MACHINE ELEMENTS

4.1. FAILURE - AN INTRODUCTION

Any equipment or system or component has finite life of working even though it is
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designed and manufactured with ·lot of precautions and care. Therefore, failures are bound to
i occur after some period of time which makes the equipment completely inoperable or it can
f[ work with reduced efficiency.
f Even though the meaning of tenns 'defect' and 'failure' are identical, defect is used in a

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broader perspective to describe the fault, flaw, mistake, deficiency or shortcoming of any
type or situation. But in general, the tenn failure refers to malfunctioning, stoppage, crash,

I fatigue damage, deterioration etc. of any equipment or system for any reason.
Definition off ailure:

I As regard to industrial scenario, the term failure may be defined as one of the following:

(i) inability to perform intended function

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I (ii) any damage that disturbs the continuity of production

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(iii) a loss of asset availability
(iv) the unavailability of equipment
(v) any secondary defect
(vi) a deviation from the existing state
(vii) not meeting the target expectations.
4.1.1. Failure Mode and Failure Density
Maintenance Engineering

Failure mode is defined as the manner in which an equipment or machine failure can
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occur. The main criteria of all fail.ure analysis are to identify the failure modes. It gives us the
information regarding the failure causes and helps in planning to prevent failures in future.
The typical failure modes are:
Repair Methods for Basic Machine Elements
Depending on the mechanical I electrical design, operating context, environment and
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maintenance effectiveness, a machine's failure rate as a function of time may Jecline, remain
constant, increase linearly or increase geometrically shown in Figure 4.1.
4.1.3. Classification of Failures

(1) Premature operation
(2) Failure to operate at the prescribed time
(3) Failure to cease operation at the prescribed time
(4) Failure during operation and
(5) Degraded or excessive operational capability.
Failure density is the ratio of number of failures during a given unit interval of time to
the total number of items at the very beginning of test.
4.1.2 • .Failure rate
Failure rate is defined as the frequency of failure of equipment or system or component.
It is the ratio of number of failures during particular unit interval to the average population
during same interval. This failure rate is also known as hazard rate and instantaneous failure
rate. It is expressed in terms of number of failres per unit of operating hours, cycles,
distance or other applicable measure. The failure rate of a component usually depends on
time with the rate varying over the life cycle of the system. Failure rate is normally expressed
in terms of Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF).
The failures are broadly classified into the following types according to the effect it will
have on the overall performance of the equipment or system.
(i) ·System failure
(ii) Component failure
In the case of sy.;tem failure, failure of a component or system may make the entire
equipment or system completely inoperable and the same cannot be used without repairing
the failed component. It is mainly possible in case of high risk "'quipment or system. For
example, failure of any equipment in an airplane mi :es it completely inoperable. Similarly,
failure of braking system in ·an automobile makes it completely inoperable without repairing
it.
On the other hand, failure of a component or system may not make the entire equipment
or system completely inoperable and the same can be used with reduced performance. This
type of failure can be classified as component failure. For e>.'Ullple, failure of wiper
I mechanism and air-conditioning system in an automob;Ie does not make it completely
inoperable; the system can be effectively used during winter season. When the elements I
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compcnents are placed in series, failure of one will make the system completely inopeble.
t Whereas the same are placed in parallel, failure of one element I component may not make it
I completely inoperable. The system can work butits efficiency may be reduced. For examµle,

I in an automobile engine, failure of one of the cylinders in a multi cylinder engine will not
make it complet!y inoperable but the performance may be reduce<f. Hence, this system falls
under this category.
There are further two types of failure based on engineering consideratirm.

I (i) Intermittent failure: This type of failure may result the lack of some i-unctions of the
component only for a very short pe1::>d of time. For example, overheating of an

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automobile engine may be considered as this type of failure. If the heat is reduced,
the system may restore to normal condition.

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Time
Perm::nent /ailure: This type of failure may result the pennanc!l :lamage to the
.Figure 4.1 Different failure rates I i
system. When this type of failure occurs, repair I replacement of component ""ill need
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Maintenance Engineering I IRepair Methods for Basic Machine Elements 1911

to restore the equipment to the operational level. Many failures fall under this (a) Design errors or design deficiencies:
category. A deficient design frequently causes failure of engineering components under loading.
Failures may farther be classified into the following types based on the degree of failure: The deficiency in design of a component can be in various fonns such as

(i) Completefailure: This type of failure may make the equipment I system inoperative
and it cannot be repaired I used further. For example, when a major accident happens
to automotive vehicles, it will become completely inoperable.
(ii) Partial failure: This type of failure leads lack of some functions but the equipment I
system can be used with care which may be with reduced perfonnance.
Failures may further be classified into the following types based on the nature of failure:
(i) Catastrophic failure: This type of failure may be sudden and complete failure. It
means that this type of failure may not be predicted in advance. For example,
bursting of tyre of an automotive vehicle during running may fall under this category.
(ii) Degradation failure: This type of failure may be gradual and partial failure. It means
that these types of failures can be forecast during inspection I testing. For example,
worn out brake pads or tyres of an automotive vehicle may be identified during
regular servicing of vehicle.
4.1.4. Causes or Sources of Failures
There may be many factors such as design, materials, manufacturing, service conditions ·
etc. which cause failure of an engineering component in actual working conditions.
Systematic analysis of equipment failures reveals the physical root causes that fall into one of
the following categories.
)> Design errors or design deficiencies
)> presence of stress raisers owing to sharp change in cross section
)> changing the desigr,i without proper consideration of its influence on stress
distribution especially in high stress areas of the component
:> duplicating a successful design for more severe loading conditions
)> design is developed without full knowledge of stress conditions owing to
complexity of th.e geometry and
)> inability to use a proper criteria for designing the engineering components.
In general, more than 50% of failures in engineering components occur due to
localization of stresses in the presence of stress raisers such as sharp fillets, notches,
keyways, holes etc. Localization of the stress initiates the cracks and facilitates their
propagation. Hence, a premature ·fracture is encouraged by the presence of stress raisers.
A deficient design can also be resulted from important factors like inability to calculate
the type and magnitude of stresses accurately and dependence of designer under the tensile
data for the design purpose which may not always be equally relevant.
(b) Improper selection of materials:
Selection of a material that is incapable of providing adequate mechanical properties for
the application (including strength, fatigue resistance, fracture toughness, corrosion
resistance, elevated temperature resistance, etc.) may lead to failure. Materials can exhibit
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anisotropy or variability in properties within a product such as between thick and thin
f portions of a castmg or between longitudinal and transverse properties in a wrought material.

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)> Improper selection of materials A material can be shown to meet the properties required or specified but the specific
)> Presence of defects in raw metal properties required for the application may rely on strength, toughness or stress-corrosion
)> Manufacturing defects I cracking resistance in a direction other than longitudinal direction.

)> Improper heat t;reatments

)> Assembly errors
II (c) Presence of defects in raw material:
Metal being used for the fabrication of an·engineering component may be deficient in
many ways depending on thennal and mechanical stresses experienced by it during

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)> Misuse or abuse of a component
manufacturing for developing the raw material. For example rods, plates and flats produced
)> Improper or inadequate maintenance by bulk defonnation based processes such as rolling, forging ·and extrusion may have
)> Unforeseen operating conditions l!nfavorable flow of grains, surface cracks etc., while castings may have blow holes, porosity

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and dissolved gases in solid state. Components developed using such raw materials generally
offer poor mechanical performance as these discontinuities provide easy path for fracture.
I Repair Methods for Basic Machine Elements
(d) Manufacturing defects:
A wide range of manufacturing processes are used for obtaining the desired size, shape
and properties in stock material. These processes include primary processes such as castings,
forming, machining and welding ·and secondary shaping processes ·such . as heat treatment,
case hardening, surface coating etc. These processes' are primarily designed to impart the
desired combination of properties either at the surface or core of raw materials as dictated by
the requirement of applications. The selection of_ inappropriate combination of process
parameters can lead to development of discontinuities, defects, unfavorable transformation
and metallurgical changes and so deterioration in the performance of final product during the
service. These imperfections and . discontinuities are _mostly process specific and they can
exist in variety of .forms .due · to improper selection of manufacturing process . and their
parameters.
(e) Improper heaJ treaJments:
Heat treatment of many metals such as iron, magnesium, copper, titanium etc. is a
common industrial practice to obtain the desired combination of properties as per the needs of
end application of the ·component. Heat treatment mostly involves a ·squence of the
controlled heating up to predetermined· temperature followed by holdng fo.. some time
(soaking) and then controlled cooling. Eac step · of heat treatment from heating to the
controlled cooling is determined by the purpose of heat treatment, method of manufacturing,
size and shape of the component. Thus, inappropriate selection of any steps of heat treatment
namely heating rate, peak temperature, soaking time and ·cooling rate can re :an
unfavorable metzllurgical transformation and mechanical properties that can eventually lead
to failure. For example, overheating of hardenable steel components for prolonged duration
can cause oxidation, decarburization, excessive grain growth, dissolution of the fine
precipitates, increased hardenability, high temperature gradient during quenching and ths
increased cracking tendency.
(/) Assembly errors:
Error in assembly can result due to various reasons uch as ambiguous, insufficient or
inappropriate assembly procedure, misalignment, poor workmanshi . Sometimes, failures e
also caused by the inavertent error performed by the workers during assembly. For xample,
the failure of nut and stud assembly (used for holding the car wheel) by fatigue can occur
owing to lack of information regarding the sequence of tightening nuts and torque to be used
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for tightening purpose. Under such conditions, any sort of loosening of nut which is s ubjected
to external load will lead to fatigue failure.
(g) Misuse or abuse of a component:
Incorrect use of a component may lead to failure. Manufacturer of a machinery or
component may issue service catalogue which contains handling procedure of each part of the
equipment. For example, loading and unloading of work piece in a CNC machine has certain
procedure. Ignoring this procedure may lead to failure of the system.
(h) Improper or inadequate maintenance:
The failure of many moving mechanical components takes place due to poor
maintenance plan. A well-developed maintenance plan having each and every important step
is to be used for·maintenance such as what, when, where, who and how. These steps should
be explicitly specified for maintenance. Lack of information in a propr schedule of
maintenance, procedure of the maintenance, frequently causes the premature failure of
moving components. For example, the absence of lubrication of a proper kind in right
quantity and conditions frequently leads to the failure of assemblies working under sliding or
rolling friction conditions. To avoid any catastrophic failure of critical components during
service, usually a well-planned and thought out maintenance plan is developed which
involves the periodic inspection and testing of components that is crucial for uninterrupted
operations of entire plant.
(i) Unforeseen operating conditions:
Failure of an engineering component can occur due to abnormal service condition
experienced by them for which they are not designed. These abnormal service conditions may
appear in the form of exposure of component to excessively high rate of loading, unfavorable
oxidative, corrosive, erosive environment at high or low temperature conditions for which it
has not been designed.
4.1.5. Basic Failure Mechanisms or Categories of Failures
The general types of failure mechanism include the following types:
)I. Failure due to distortion
) Failure by fracture due to overload
) Failure by fatigue fracture
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) Failure due to stress concentration
) Failure due to impact loading
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Bii Maintenance Engineering
Repair Methods for Basic Machine Elements
) Failure due to creep
Load
);;>- Failure due to corrosion Load
);;>- Failure due to wear
);;>- Failure due to contamination.

(a) Failure due to distortion:

A distortion is a geometric change in a component that makes it appear different from
the original shape. Geometry change will genrally be in the form of volume change (e.g.,
swelling or shrinkage) or shape change (e.g., warping, bending, or buckling). A distortion
failure occurs when geometrical changes prevent a component from functioning properly. for
example, swollen polymer bearing in a pump or bent linkage in a transmission falls under this
category. Common causes of geometry-induced failure include inadequate design, flexural
stiffness under load, stress-induced materiaI yielding and uneven heating while in service.

(b) Failure byfracture due to overload:

Afracture is generally defined as materi separation . There are many causes and forms Load

of fracb.Jre including brittle fracture, ductile fracture and many progressive cracking Load

mechanisms that can lead to final fracture. Overload fracture failures are caused by forces
that exceed the yield strength or the tensile strength of a material. As depicted in Fi gure 4.2,
the appearance of an overload failure depends on whether the shaft material is brittle or
ductile. The fracture can be classified either as ductile or bdttJe depending upon plastic
I,. deformation of the material before any catastrophic failure. Ductile fracture is characterized
by tearing of metal and significant plastic defonnation. This type of fracture occurs due to
. error in design, incorrect selection of materials, improper manufacturing technique and
t section of a piece of material can significantly change the stress at which the fracture occurs.
!' handling. Brittle fracture is characterized by rapid crack propagation with low energy release
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and without significant plastic defonnation . Brittle metals experience little or no plastic
I deformation prior to fracture.
! (c) Failure byfatigue fracture:
Fatigue is caused by repeated cyclical loading. It is a progressive localized damage due
to fluctuating stresses and strains on the material. Metal fatigue cracks initiate and propagate
in regions where the strain is most severe. The process of fatigue consists of three stages.
} Initial crack formation
(a) Brittle (b) Ductile
Figure 1·1Brittle and ductile overload failltres
(d) Failure due to stress conce11tration:
Stress concentration is defined as a physical or metallurgical condition that increases the
local stress in the machine component. The presence of a notch or any sudden change in the
The notch or sudden change in section produces stress concentrations. The amount by which
the stress is raised depends on the depth of notch or change in section and radius of the tip of
notch.
(e) Failure due to impact loading:
Another factor which can affect the fracture of a material is the speed of loading. A
sudden blow to the material i.e. impact loading may lead to fracture where the same stress
applied more slowly would not. With a high rate of application of stress, there may be
insufficient time for plastic deformation of a material to occur under normal conditions and

) Progressive crack growth across the part ductile materials will behave in a brittle manner.

} Final but sudden fracture of the remaining cross section.

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(j) Failure due to creep:
Creep failure occurs under certain load conditions at elevated temperature normally
above 40 % of melting temperature of the material. Boilers, gas turbine engines and ovens are
some examples whereby the components experience the creep failure.
(g) Failure due to corrosi:m:
Corrosion is a chemically induced damage to a material that results the deterioration of
materials and. its properties. It may result the failure of the component. In metals, the most
common type of corrosion is an electrochemical phenomenon that occurs on the surface of
the metal when exposed to a corrosive aqueous environment. Several other forms of
corrosion are encountered in metallic materials. Among them, the majority ·Of failures are due
to liquid metal embrittlement, corrosion in molten salts, high·temperature oxidation, stress
corrosion etc. The result of corrosive attack can take the physical fonn of uniform surface
wastage, local wastage, pitting, cracking, embrittlement and so forth. It can be. controlfed
using galvanic protection, corrosion inhibitors, materials selection, protective coating and
observing some design rules.
(/1) Failure due to wear:
Wear may be defined as damage to a s.olid surface caused by the removal or
displacement of material by the mechanical action of a contacting solid, liquid, ·or gas. Wear
generally results the loss of material and load-carrying capabiJity, adhesion, increased fricti9n
and debris generation. There is a significant influence of friction and lubrication on the rate
and severity of wear damage. Abrasive wear is a method in which the particle contamination
causes the majority of the wear. Particles such as dirt or wear debris can Jead to three-body
abrasion or surface fatigue which results the surfaces becoming pitted and scored. Adhesive
wear involves in two surfaces coming to direct contact with each other or transferring
material from one face to the other. It appears in areas where the lubricant can no long
support the load or in areas of lubricant starvation.
(i) Failure due to contaminatipn:
Contamination is the presence of an unwanted constituent, contaminant or impurity in a
material, system, work fluid, etc. In fact, studies have revealed that as much as 70 % of all
premature machine failures can be attributed to contamination. Sources of contamination can
include the manufacturing process, hydraulic fluids, environmental exposure, system wear
and servicing.
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4.1.6. Causes of Failure inVarious Components I Equipment I Systems
It is vital to know the reasons as component failures can lead to catastrophic accidents
causing heavy loss of life and property. Based on the description given in the earlier section,
the causes of failure of some of the components I Equipment I systems are given below.
Causes offai lures in roller and ball bearings:
Roller and ball bearings are commonly used in various components. The rollers or balls
· are placed in between two raceways. It allows relative motion by the rotation of these pieces.
Bearing load ratings are established on the basis of results of laboratory rolling contact
fatigue tests. Real world conditions such as misalignment, vibration, shock loading,
insufficient or ineffi.cient lubrication, extremes of temperature or contamination will decrease
· the life expectancy of bearings. If these conditions are severe, t.hey may lead to premature
failure of bearings.
Some common characteristics of bearing failures are: wear, fretting, corrosion,
indentations, electrical pitting, smearing, cracking and flaking. Some of the factors that. may
lead to bearing failure are:
) Improper lubrication
) Impact loading
) Excess vibration
> Excess temperature
) Contamination
) Over loading and
) MisaJignment of shafts and spindles.
Causes offailures in shafts:
Shafts function in wide ranging service conditions, indud.ing corrosive environments
and both very high and low temperatures. Shafts may experience a range of loading
conditions. In general, sha.fts may experience tension, compression, bending, torsion or a
combination of these loading conditions. Additionally, shafts may experience vibratory
stresses.
Wear is a common cause of shaft failure. Abrasive wear is one of the fonns of wear·
failures. Abrasive wear or abrasion is caused by the displacement of material from a solid
surface due to hard particles or protuberances sliding along the surface. Abrasive wear can
I reduce the size and destroy the shape of a shaft. Some examples of abrasive wear f shafts are
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