Anna

Romina T. Mercado
2012-57625

Reaction Paper

Dr. Racquel del Rosario-Fortun is one of the two existing forensic
pathologists in the Philippines. Last December 5, our batch was fortunate enough to
hear her talk about her firsthand experience with forensic work. Forensic pathology
is a branch of pathology that is specifically concerned with the investigation of the
death of an individual. This involves gathering enough evidence to determine the
manner and cause of death as well as relying the gathered information to the public
or court of law. [1]
While forensic pathology mainly handles carcasses, there are striking
similarities between the general procedures of forensic pathology and forensic
engineering. Both are aimed to give a better understanding of the case at hand and
ultimately, give the likely causes. Based on Dr. Fortuns lecture, the first and crucial
step in forensic pathology is documentation. This is done through an overview of
the crime scene. Here is important to take pictures without tampering any of the
evidence. This is similar with forensic engineering wherein it is important to
document the failure. Afterwards, the body must be properly removed from the
crime scene for an autopsy. The autopsy itself is somewhat similar as well. A visual
inspection is first done to pinpoint crucial injuries. In forensic engineering, it is in
visual inspection where you first try to look for cracks, fractures, etc. Then, a more
thorough and closer look is done. Each injury is further checked. Doctor Fortun
even mentioned that even in forensic pathology, they make use of characterization
techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to better understand some
biological samples.
In her talk, Dr. Fortun asked if any of us would want to do forensic
engineering in the future. Personally, I agree with her insight that forensic
engineering is not exactly something you pursue. Instead, it is better off a sideline
since the demand for it is not as big compared with the need for more forensic
pathologists. She also spoke in detail about how the country is need of a better
justice system and how our government cannot do this alone. Professionals
including us engineers have a responsibility to contribute. This is the challenge she
posed as a closing note. When Dr. Fortun chose to be a forensic pathologist, she
knew that it was an unusual path to take. This however excited her more than it
terrified her. She made me realize that a career is beyond the amount of your
monthly paycheck. It is measured by how much you have learned and grown. She
reminded me that so much of it is about what you can give.
On another note, MatE 173 has been an overall rewarding learning
experience. As a recommendation, I suggest a more application-based approach
since discussions mainly dealt with theories. I found a book by Peter Rhys Lewis,
Ken Reynolds and Colin Gagg entitled Forensic Materials Engineering which
features a collection of case studies from actual law cases that focuses on the
analysis of materials in forensic engineering. There were several interesting cases
in it that I think students will be interested in. A plant tour to a failure analysis
laboratory will also be really good. Writing a failure report and doing a case study
should also be kept since it really challenged us use what we have learned from our
MatE courses. It also pushed us to think out of the box.

Reference:
[1]

(Hi Doc Les! Included in the next page is my reaction paper for the RLE Talk. I
emailed it on the day of deadline since I could not open UvLe during that time. I
included it here in case.)
Romina Mercado
2012-57625

Remaining life assessment is a set of techniques and methods commonly
used to ensure that process equipment will operate safely and reliably for a
determined period of time. On October 17, 2016, Filconfab, Inc. president and
founder Mr. James Porter presented some of the techniques, methods and
associated equipment used for remaining life assessment as done in his company.
They may be categorized based on the common degradation mechanisms of
equipment materials. The degradation mechanisms are: (a) corrosion, (b) erosion,
(c) creep, and (d) fatigue.

The first degradation mechanism Mr. Porter discussed in detail was
corrosion. To determine the remaining life of equipment that is prone to corrosion,
a calculation-based approach is used. The corrosion rate of the material is
calculated through thickness measurements from a chosen time interval. This
method is also called The Thickness Approach. Using the computed corrosion
rate, remaining life may be calculated using the equation:

!!"#$!% !!"#$%!"&
!"#$%&%&' !"#$ =
!"##"$%"& !"#$

The same calculative approach may also be used for remaining life assessment of
equipment prone to erosion (Escoe, 2006).

For materials that degrade through fatigue, fractographic investigation is
incorporated. This approach is used for equipment that undergo cyclic stresses.
Welds are also prone to this type of degradation (Sintra Engineers). Fatigue life of
the material may be estimated based on the crack initiation, propagation and
fracture found.

Another degradation mechanism discussed in detail was creep. This is more
apparent in materials used at high service temperatures. Creep deformation
models, which feature primary, secondary, and tertiary creep behavior of a material,
may be used for remaining life assessment (Sturrock & Begley, 1995).

Some of the techniques usually used as presented by Mr. Porter were
metallographic analysis and non-destructive techniques. He mentioned the use of
portable microscopes for on-site investigations. His company also makes use of
replication techniques to produce equivalent samples for later laboratory testing. If
allowable, extraction of samples from the equipment is also done.

Materials investigated generally fall into one or even a combination of two of
the four categories discussed and therefore be analyzed with the methods
appropriate for each degradation mechanism. For instance, civil structures
generally make use of non-destructive and modeling techniques. As for mechanical
products such as turbine rotors and furnace heater tubes, ultrasonic detection
techniques may be used to detect cracks for stress and fractures analysis.
Equipment subjected to high temperatures such as refinery heater tubes and steam
turbine components are assessed using non-destructive techniques to evaluate their
creep properties. The thickness approach, on the other and, is used for equipment
prone to corrosion such as those placed in humid areas or locations near the shore.
(Mathew, Rodgers, Eveloy, Vichare, & Pecht, 2006)

Meanwhile, another subject discussed in the lecture was fitness for service
evaluation. This is an assessment method wherein flaws and conditions within an
item are evaluated to determine the integrity of the equipment for continued
service. The same methods as remaining life assessment may be incorporated to
identify the flaw and damage mechanism of the equipment.

While forensic engineering is generally associated with catastrophic failures,
remaining service life and fitness for service evaluations still belong to the field.
They, after all, deal with failed components of equipment. The extent to which the
failures they deal with however are not yet as severe. Part of the job of doing these
assessment techniques is to check if the equipment is still safe to use or functional
enough despite presence of flaws. The use of these techniques will not only tell you
when catastrophic failure may occur. It can also help you decide if continuing the
use of the same equipment is more beneficial, economic-wise and quality-wise, than
getting a replacement.

To sum the lecture up, the figure below shows my understanding of the
assessment techniques discussed and how they play out in the field. One of the
ways to ensure process safety is to do process hazard analysis, which involves the
use of assessment techniques for equipment. The methods used to do these include
non-destructive techniques, metallographic analysis and calculative methods.

PROCESS
SAFETY
MANAGEMENT

Process Hazard
Analysis

Assesment
Techniques Methods

Remaining Life Non-Destructive

Assement Testing

Fit for Service Metallographic

Evaluation Analysis

Calculative
Methods

Bibliography
Sintra Engineers. (n.d.). Remaining Life Assessment. Retrieved October 21, 2016,
from MTOC: easyfairs.com
Escoe, K. (2006). Piping and Pipelines Assessment Guide. Burlington, MA, USA: Gulf
Professional .
Sturrock, C., & Begley, E. (1995). Computerizatin and Networking of Materials
Databases (Vol. IV). Philadelphia, USA: American Society for Testing and Materials.
Mathew, S., Rodgers, P., Eveloy, V., Vichare, N., & Pecht, M. (2006, October). A
Methodology for Assessing the Remaining Life of Electronic Products. Internation
Journal of Performability Engineering , 383-395.