Failure Analysis

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanik & Bahan Fakulti Kejuruteraan & Alam Bina Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
(sajuri@eng.ukm.my)

Dr. Zainuddin Sajuri

What, Why and How of Failure Analysis

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What is Failure?
Definition of Failure' o a device or structure is no longer able to function as intended. o system or part of a system fails to perform up to the expectations for which it was created.

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Failure
Failure is often the end result of unexpected factors: o o o o o Unforeseen vibrations develop; unanticipated temperatures are encountered; manufacturing tolerances can not be held; components do not quite mate as intended; the product is used or serviced in unintended ways.

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Failure is a human concept

Materials do not fail in and of themselves. o They follow the laws of nature perfectly. o If a part is loaded beyond its tensile strength, it breaks. o Until that stress level is reached, it does not break.

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When a part fails in service

o o o o o o under-designed bad engineering poor manufacturing inadequate quality control fraud typographical errors

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"Just because you can, does not mean you should"

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Failures Are Caused by Human Errors

Three general types of error: o Error of knowledge o Error of performance o Error of intent Tidak boleh menyalahkan Tuhan atas kemalangan yang berlaku: - Ini kehendak Tuhan - Ini takdir Ilahi..
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Error of knowledge
Involve insufficient knowledge, education, training, and/or experience. o Hydrogen Embrittlement (HE) causes otherwise stable high strength steel components to fail.

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Error of performance
Result from lack of sufficient care or from negligence. Negligence involves such things as misreading of drawings, inadequate specifications, and defective manufacturing and workmanship.

o Recent NASA failures in a Mars mission involved the incorrect conversion from the English to the Metric System of measurement in a computer program.

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Error of intent
Very commonly involve greed. Greed leads to actions usually carried out with a conscious or unconscious denial of full knowledge of the potential consequences. o Cost reduction driving design of military vehicles causing premature failures. o Aloha stadium superstructure corrosion failures were caused by lack of surface preparation and poor materials and coating selection.
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What is Failure Analysis?

'forensic engineering' - the investigation of failed components with a view to ascertaining the cause of failure in order to prevent further failure, injury or loss of life, and thus reduce any associated financial loss.

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Why Undertake a Failure Analysis?

Most important: To prevent future failures Sometimes: To find who to be blamed

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What Are Some of The Effects of Failure?

o Loss of profit o Injury o Loss of life o If a detailed failure analysis is carried out and appropriate ameliorating action taken repetition of such failure can often be avoided.

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What Are Some of The Agents of Failure?

Four major failure agents o o o o Force Material Time Environment

This means that components will only fail due to one, or perhaps a combination of several, of these four failure agents.
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What are Some of the Cause of Failure of Machinery?

At least one or more of the following seven cause categories: o o o o o o Faulty design Material defects Fabrication and/or processing error Assembly or installation defects Off-design or unintended service conditions Maintenance deficiencies, including neglect and procedures o Improper operation
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Some Other Causes of Failure

o o o o o o o o o o Misuse or Abuse Manufacturing defects Improper maintenance Fastener failure Improper material Improper heat treatments Unforeseen operating conditions Inadequate quality assurance Inadequate environmental protection/control Casting discontinuities

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What Can Be Done to Prevent Failure?

An understanding of possible causes of failure, allows the risk of premature failure to be minimized. o Kept acceptably low stress level o Materials chosen are able to withstand severe environment o Quality control standards need to be imposed o Manufactured components meet the the requirement of the design o System needs to be operated as designed, without abuse or overload.
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What Can Be Done to Prevent Failure?

o If, using appropriate techniques, a potential failure and its cause can be identified to prevent complete/final failure may, in some cases, be taken. o In other cases, if accurate loading data is available and the material properties are known, the potential for catastrophic failure may be assessed using fracture mechanics principles, such as life prediction.

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Important
Many failures are preventable if we
understand the materials and their intended applications well enough and are willing to pay the required costs for safety and durability.

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Root Cause Determination

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Force/Materials/ Time/Environment Failure Analysis 24

Product Specifications and Failure

Service-life-expectancy of a product Definition The level of degradation that will be designated as failure.

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Product Specifications and Failure

Perfect materials do not exist
Create allowances in design, fabrication & Application

o Presence of defects o Corrosion loss o Establishing limits

Type Size Location distribution

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Root Cause Determination

Product fails gradually, suddenly or catastrophically
Root-cause failure analysis provides

o A method of evaluation must to understand why the failure occurred. o Valuable guidance to avoid future failure
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Primary Cause vs. Root Cause

o The primary cause is the set of conditions or parameters from which the failure began.

What is fundamentally responsible for the failure in performance and determine the sequence of events that led to the final failure.

o The root cause of a failure is a process or procedure which went wrong.

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Primary Cause vs. Root Cause

Example: o The finish on a machine part was not as specified. o The heat-treatment on a rail was not uniform. o The angle on screw-threads was too steep. Identification of that process is the key to creating a procedure by which future failures can be avoided. Most failure analysis stops short of this final step.
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Primary Cause vs. Root Cause

The poor finish, the incorrect heat treatment, the shape of the screw threads in the paragraph above are the primary causes of those failures, not the root causes.

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Primary Cause vs. Root Cause

The root causes would be: o The failure to check the finish after the part was machined, o The failure to ensure that the heat treatment furnace had sufficient control of changes in temperature to produce the desired microstructure in the rails, or o The failure to enter the proper information into the thread-cutting process.

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How to Conduct Failure Analysis

A failure analysis is much like the work of a detective. o Discover important clues through investigation o Discover the contributing factors of failure

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How to Conduct Failure Analysis

Success of failure analyst o Broad knowledge of materials in general o Aware of the failed materials mechanical and physical properties and its fabrication and historical performance characteristics. o Possess a working knowledge of structural design and stress behavior.

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How to Conduct Failure Analysis

1) Preliminaries: Determine when, where and how the failure occurred. 2) Collect samples for laboratory examination. 3) Take on-site photographs. 4) Visually examine the sample. 5) Identify defects Non-Destructively. 6) Conduct appropriate chemical analyses. 7) Confirm material composition

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How to Conduct Failure Analysis

8) Analyze via Fractography 9) Analyze via Metallography 10)Conduct Appropriate Mechanical and Materials Testing and Analysis as Necessary 11) Determine the type of failure 12)Synthesize and summarize the data, determine and report the root-cause of the failure.
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1. Preliminaries: Determine when, where and how the failure occurred.

Before beginning any failure analysis, a) Determine whether or not destructive testing is permitted or if the testing must be limited to non-destructive approaches.
If the failure is or may be subject to litigation, opposing counsels must agree on this point before any sampling begins. Witnessed testing (the presence of parties from both sides in a law suit) may be called for.

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b) Visit the failure site in the field if possible.

All operators involved in the failure should be interviewed personally. Determine what the conditions were at the time of failure. Were there prior indications suggesting failure was about to occur? Was the failure gradual or catastrophic? Was the part protected after failure? How was the fracture handled? Did the failure involve any fire or other condition which could have altered the microstructure of the base metal or of some part of the sample such as a weld?

These and all other appropriate questions should provide a basis for the investigation.
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c) To obtain documentation on maintenance procedures

during the lifetime of the equipment that failed maintenance personnel, records of scheduled maintenance, and suppliers and products used. obtain the physical and chemical specifications for the product which failed, against which performance may be measured.

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2. Collect samples for laboratory examination

Samples selected should be: a) Characteristic of the material b) Contain a representation of the failure or corrosive attack. c) Taken from a sound and normal section (for comparative purposes)

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Sample handling
The whole remaining analysis depend on sample handling a) Fracture surfaces must be protected from damage during shipment by careful packaging. b) Surfaces should not be touched, cleaned or put back together. c) Surface chemistry must not be contaminated by careless handling.

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Material specification
a) Materials specifications and service history reveal much about the nature of failure. b) Background information will need to be provided for analysis. c) Take copious notes. d) Do not rely on memory

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Samples removal
a) Acetylene torch, b) air-arc, c) saw, d) trepan, or e) drill. All cuts by torch or air-arc should be at least six inches away from the area to be examined to avoid altering the microstructure or obscuring corrosive attack.
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3. Take on-site photographs

Photographs should be taken of a) The failed pieces and the samples to be removed and their surroundings. b) Show the relationship of the questioned area to the remainder of the piece of equipment. c) The samples after removal d) Proper designation, location and dimension of the sample e) The date the failure occurred, and the date of the photographs f) Use video recording if necessary
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4. Visually examine the sample

a) Examine the sample with unaided eye, hand lens and/or low magnification field microscopes. b) Note all anomalies, searching for cracks, corrosion damage, the presence of foreign material, erosion or wear damage, or evidence of impact or other distress. c) The condition of protective coatings. d) Manufacturing defects.

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4. Visually examine the sample

If pipe failure a) Measure wall thickness both at the failure site and some distance away from it. b) Note the presence of any corrosion and map its general distribution.

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5. Identify defects NonDestructively

Search for material imperfections with o radiography, o magnetic particle, o ultrasonic, o liquid/dye penetrant, o eddy current, o leak, o acoustic emissions
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Magnetic Particle Testing done by inducing a magnetic field in a ferro-magnetic material and dusting the surface with iron particles.
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5. Identify defects NonDestructively

Radiography

Fluorescent Liquid Dye Penetrant viewed in black light.

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6. Conduct appropriate chemical analyses

Chemical analysis to determine a) material was of proper type and grade, b) Material met appropriate standards, c) Whether deviation from the specifications contributed to o fracture, o wear, o breaks corrosion and o failure.
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Method of chemical analysis

o Wet chemical analysis, o Atomic Absorption, o X-ray Photoelectron, o Auger Electron and o Spectroscopy

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7. Confirm material composition

Use EDS (Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy) to identify material composition. a) In conjunction with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to identify the elements b) Advantages of EDS are
Easily performed reliable as a qualitative method.

c) Limitations
Only marginally useful as a quantitative method.

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EDS

Line scanning isolates an area of the specimen. The red line indicates the location of the scan.

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8. Analyze via Fractography

Fractography is used to determine a) the mode of fracture
o o o intergranular, cleavage, or shear

b) the origin of fracture, c) location and d) nature of flaws that may have initiated failure.
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8. Analyze via Fractography

The importance of fractograph a) Determine why a part failed can usually be determined. b) Reveal the relationship between physical and mechanical processes involved in the fracture mechanism. c) The size of fracture characteristics range from gross features to a few micrometers across.

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Common Technique in Fractography

a) Light microscopy b) Scanning electron microscopy the depth of field in the SEM is much higher; thus the SEM can focus on all areas of a three-dimensional object identifying characteristic features such as striations or inclusions..

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9. Analyze via Metallography

Prepare a laboratory specimen a) not to remove boundaries inclusions, erode grain

b) Study structural characteristics in relation to its physical and mechanical properties c) note of grain size, shape, and distribution of secondary phases and nonmetallic inclusions.

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9. Analyze via Metallography

Intergranular Stress Corrosion Cracking (ISCC) in turbine component

Cross-section of copper lance component exposed to excessive temperatures showing grain growth

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9. Analyze via Metallography

Metallography for the analyst may be concerned with a) pit depth, b) intergranular corrosion, c) hydrogen attack and embrittlement, d) caustic embrittlement, e) stress corrosion cracking (intergranular or transgranular), f) corrosion, g) mechanical or thermal fatigue.
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10. Conduct Appropriate Mechanical and Materials Testing and Analysis as Necessary
1. Physical Testing 2. Finite Element Analysis 3. Fracture Mechanics

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Physical Testing
To determine if the mechanical properties - conform to specifications. o Hardness, o tensile strength, o impact, o fatigue resistance, o wear, o Flexibility etc.
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Physical Testing
Structural members and machine parts can fail to perform their intended functions by: o excessive elastic deformation (deflection under applied loads), o yielding (permanent material deformation as a result of stress), or o fracture.

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Physical Testing
Examples: o Deflection of closely mating machine parts due to surface stresses (elastic deformation) can degrade adjacent parts by increasing wear and in certain cases can promote complete failure. o A study of the mechanical properties of the parts can provide information on load-bearing capabilities of the system and can minimize such failures.
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Finite Element Analysis

A powerful numerical tool for analyzing mechanical components and systems o Predicting the response of an component or assembly to stress existing

o Assessment of remaining life of a component or assembly o Determining the failure mode of a failed component or assembly, e.g. fatigue, creep, and buckling. o Designing of a new component or assembly as a part of recommendations for remediation of the problem
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Fracture Mechanics
Using the many analytical techniques above will help to determine o How the part in question actually failed, o What the mode of failure was, and o Where the failure was initiated.

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Fracture Mechanics
Using the many analytical techniques above will help to determine o How the part in question actually failed, o What the mode of failure was, and o Where the failure was initiated.

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Fracture Mechanics
Fracture mechanics relates o The size of flaws in a material, principally cracks, to o The applied stresses on those cracks, and to o the fracture toughness of the material, or its resistance to cracking.

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Fracture Mechanics
The relation between flaw size, stress and fracture toughness

K IC Y a

: fracture stress Y : dimensionless shape factor a : crack length KIC : fracture toughness
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Fracture Mechanics
This calculation will allow o the determination of permissible flaw size, o the calculation of the stress necessary to cause catastrophic failure o the determination of the load on a component at the time of failure o the determination as to whether adequate materials were used in manufacturing o the determination as to whether a part design was adequate.
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Fracture Mechanics
Thus, fracture mechanics can be used to help us understand o how a particular crack formed at a specific location and o the stress conditions that caused the crack to propagate. The design engineer will normally include factors of safety in his design to prevent stresses from reaching critical levels

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11. Determine the type of failure

The major types of failures likely to be encountered by metals in service are: a) Ductile fracture, b) Brittle fracture, c) Fatigue fracture, d) Wear, e) Fretting, f) Elevated Temperature and g) Corrosion
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12. Synthesize and summarize the data, determine and report the root cause of the failure
Proposed root causes of a failure must be based primarily on observed facts. These facts, combined with the experience, skill and knowledge of the analyst will lead to sound conclusions.

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12. Synthesize and summarize the data, determine and report the root cause of the failure
All the observed data should be reported, even if some of it seems peripheral. In the future, with additional data, it may turn out to be possible to use what seemed peripheral at first to make an even more sound interpretation.
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How to Write Failure Analysis Report

The failure analysis report represents the culmination of the analysis effort and the beginning of failure elimination. The goal of any failure analysis is targeted towards the elimination of identified causes and prevent future failure.

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How to Write Failure Analysis Report

The completed failure analysis report includes the following sections:
a) Description of the failed component b) Service condition at the time of failure c) Prior service history d) Manufacturing and processing history of component e) Mechanical and metallurgical study of failure f) Metallurgical evaluation of quality g) Event Summary of failure causing mechanism h) Recommendations for prevention of similar failures
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How to Write Failure Analysis Report

The final failure analysis report provides solutions with expected returns on investments but also identifies how the failure occurred in the first place. To accomplish this event summary, a description of the failure mechanism and list of recommendations are included in the report.

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Event Summary
A brief description of: a) how the failure was first noticed b) how long it has been going on and c) the method(s) used to isolate or mitigate the consequences of the failure.

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Failure Mechanism
A summary of the root cause(s) that led to failure occurrence. a) characterize the things that must occur in order for the failure to manifest itself. b) outline the mechanical and metallurgical study of failure including the metallurgical evaluation of quality.

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Recommendation
Explain what, when and who is going to be responsible for implementation, and also include a recommendations for prevention of similar failures.

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