Failure Investigation

Dr. Baldev Raj

Director, MCRG
IGCAR, Kalpakkam
Objectives of Failure Investigation:
Failure investigation and subsequent
analysis should determine the primary
cause of failure, based on the
determination, corrective action should
be initiated that will prevent similar
failure.
Important contributory causes of the
failure must be assessed, new
experimental techniques may have to be
developed or an unfamiliar field of
engineering or science explored.
 DESIGN

PROCESS PARAMETERS
MATERIAL BEHAVIOR
(SYNERGISM)
DESIGNER

PLANT MANGER

FAILURE
(INADEQUATE
PERFORMANCE)

LEAKAGE

FRACTURE

BREAKDOWN

UNACCEPTABLE
DIMENSIONAL
CHANGE
 IMPORTANCE OF FAILURE INVESTIGATION
Failure analysis reveals one or more the following:
Deficiencies in design
Material imperfection
Fabrication defects
Improper processing
Errors in assembly
Service abnormalities
Inadequate or improper maintenance
Unintended or inadvertent factors
Stages involved in Failure Investigation:
1. Collection of background data
2. Preliminary examination of the failed part
3. Non-destructive testing / Examination
4. Mechanical Testing
5. Macroscopic Observation
6. Microscopic studies
7. Determination of Failure Mechanism
8. Chemical analysis of the failed portion
9. Analysis of Fracture Mechanics
10. Testing under simulated conditions
11. Analysis and Synthesis of all the evidences, formulation of
conclusions
12. Writing of report
NEW TECHNIQUES FOR FAILURE ANALYSIS
ADVANCED NDE
MINIATURE SPECIMEN TESTING
X-RAY DIFFRACTION

- RESIDUAL STRESSES
MAGNETIC BARKHAUSEN NOISE

- MICROSTRUCTURE
IN-SITU METALLOGRAPHY
TRACE ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS

- SECONDARY ION MASS SPECTROSCOPY (SIMS)

- AUGER ELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY (AES)
- ELECTRON PROBE MICRO ANALYSIS (EPMA)
- ENERGY DISPERSIVE X-RAY ANALYSIS (EDAX)
MODELING
SIMULATION STUDIES

 TYPES OF FAILURES

MECHANICAL FAILURES ENVIRONMENTAL MECHANICAL-ENVIRONMENTAL

FAILURES FAILURES
Ductile and brittle failures Stress-corrosion cracking
Fatigue failures Hydrogen embrittlement
Distortion failures Liquid metal embrittlement
Wear failures Corrosion failures Corrosion fatigue
Creep failures Corrosion-erosion failures Fretting fatigue
DUCTILE AND BRITTLE FRACTURES
Ductile and Brittle failures are terms that
describe the amount of macroscopic
plastic deformation that precede fracture
 DUCTILE FRACTURE
Tearing of metal accompanied by appreciable gross
plastic deformation
Gray or fibrous appearance on fracture surface
Exhibit necking Cup and cone formation
Microvoid formation and its coalescence Dimpled structure

Dimples on a ductile fractured surface

 BRITTLE FRACTURE
Rapid crack propagation with less expenditure of energy
Without gross plastic deformation
Bright and granular appearance on fracture surface
Little or No necking Plane strain condition
Intergranular / Transgranular mode

Intergranular mode Transgranular mode

 FATIGUE FAILURES
Fatigue fracture is caused by:

Repeated application of cyclic loads

Fatigue cracking results from:
Repeated application of cyclic stresses that are below the static
yield strength of the material High cycle fatigue [HCF]
Repeated application of plastic strain Low cycle fatigue [LCF]

Crack origin

High Cycle Fatigue Failure of a transmission shaft

Fatigue crack initiation
On planes oriented 45 to the applied stress axis
In persistent slip bands on specimen surface
At elevated temperature grain boundary may also
act as initiating sites
At inclusions in the material
Characterized by formation of intrusions &
extrusions
Low cycle fatigue
N = < 104 cycles
Total plastic strain range is controlled and
changes in stress response monitored
Total strain = Elastic + Plastic strain
Log-log plot of total strain range Vs N
Log-log plot of plastic strain ranges vs N

Coffin Manson Relation:

p Nf = C = Constant
p = Plastic strain range ; =Constant (0.5 to 0.6)
Nf = Number of cycles to failure
Log-log plot between plastic strain ranges vs N
High Cycle Fatigue
In the elastic regime

Basquins Law

(/E) Nf = C = Constant
= Constant (between 1/8 to 1/15);
Nf = Number of cycles to failure
Crack propagates:
In planes perpendicular to the applied stress axis
Characterized by striations (beach marks) on the fracture surface

Clarity of fatigue striations depends on:

Ductility of the material
Stress levels (High stress levels Widely spaced;
Low stress level Small spacing)

Photograph of the failed aircraft wheel axle and its fracture surface
 STRIATIONS INDICATING SLOW FATIGUE CRACK
GROWTH BEACH MARKS

OVERLOAD FAILURE MULTIPLE CRACK ORIGIN

Failure of a steam turbine blade from a nuclear power plant due to fatigue
To avoid fatigue failures:

Improvement in Design to:

Eliminate or minimize the stress raisers

Eliminate surface defects during manufacture
Relieve tensile residual stress
Ensure good surface finish
 Creep Failure
Thermally assisted plastic deformation which is
time dependent at constant load or stress
At temp. > 0.3 Tm to 0.4 Tm; [Tm ] = Melting point in Kelvin

Fracture of polycrystalline solids at

elevated temperature occurs by:

Nucleation and growth of voids at grain boundary /

inclusion sites
Grain boundary sliding and grain boundary diffusion
Rupture due to dynamic recovery or recrystallization
Precipitates in ferritic steel
 Creep - curve

MECHANISM OF CREEP

Primary creep : Work hardening dominates - Decrease in creep rate

Secondary creep : Balance between work hardening and recovery
Tertiary creep : Loss of cross section, formation and growth of cavities
Particle coarsening, Recovery in dislocation substructure
Failed Turbine wheel assembly from a
combustion turbine
Photomicrostructure of the failed turbine blade showing
creep cavities and grain boundary carbide precipitation
Design consideration for high temperature
application
- Minimum of these three stresses is taken

Stress to cause 1% strain in 105 hours Long term application

80% stress to cause onset of tertiary in 105 hours

67% stress to cause rupture in 105 hours

Steady state creep:

= An e Q/RT

A = Constant, = Stress
n = Stress exponent, Q = Activation energy
 Life Prediction Methods
Damage summation method
Linear Damage Rule - Miners Law Pure Fatigue

Frequency modified stain-range method

Takes care of environmental effect
Lower frequency promotes fatigue-oxidation interaction

Strain-range-partitoning method
Takes care of creep-fatigue interaction
Strain hold fatigue tests
Stress-strain hysteresis loop partitioned to obtain contribution of
creep and fatigue in each cycle

Ductility-exhaustion method
Fraction of ductility consumed in each strain hold test is calculated
Applied to power plant components
 ENVIRONMENTAL FAILURE
Corrosion failure

Corrosion is the unintended destructive

chemical or electrochemical reaction of a
material with its environment

Loss due to corrosion in our country is estimated to be 4%

of GNP- is equivalent to Rs.24,000 crores per annum
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE CORROSION

Temperature and temperature gradients at

metal environment interface

Relative motion between the environment and

the metal parts

Presence of dissimilar metals in electrically

conductive environment

Processing and fabrication operations

Storage condition
TYPES OF CORROSION
Uniform corrosion
Pitting corrosion
Selective leaching
Intergranular corrosion
Concentration cell
corrosion
Crevice corrosion
Galvanic corrosion
CORROSION RATE EXPRESSION

Corrosion rate in metals are expressed as mils per years (mpy)

or mm per year (mmpy) [1mpy = 0.0254mmpy]

Safe = < 5mpy

Moderate = 5 to 50 mpy
Severe = > 50 mpy

CORROSION CONTROL METHODS

Modification of metals
Modification of environments
Change of metal/environmental potential
Use of nonmetallic materials
 Trepanned portion

Failure of a Monel-400 Boiler heatexchanger

from a nuclear power plant
SEM PHOTOGRAPH SHOWING THROUGH - THROUGH OPENING
AND INTERGRANULAR CORROSION AT THE DEFECTIVE
LOCATION IN MONEL400 HEAT EXCHANGER TUBE DUE TO
SLUDGE DEPOSIT
 Grain Boundary

Cu rich second phase

Cu depleted zone

Delamination

Intergranular corrosion on high strength

aluminium alloy due to exfoliation
 Photo microstructure of the Delayed Neutron Monitoring tube showing
propagation of TGSCC and presence of a long seam weld with weld defect

Branched TGSCC initiation from corrosion pits due to chloride ion attack from the
mineral insulation wool from the outer surface of the stainless steel tube
Pitting corrosion observed on cut cross section of a
cupro-nickel tube from a turbine lub-oil cooler
 MECHANICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FAILURES
STRESS CORROSION CRACKING
HYDROGEN EMBRITTLEMENT

STRESS CORROSION CRACKING

Synergistic action of tensile stress and corrosive environment

General Characteristics:
Only specific environment cause failure
- Season Cracking
Microstructure of the alloy influences susceptibility
Sensitization
Pure metals are less susceptible
 Transgranular mode Intergranular mode

Stress corrosion cracking in Stainless steel

 In-situ metallography examination on
the failed stainless steel dished end

TGSCC on the dished end due

to presence of residual stress
and improper storage
Hydrogen Embrittlement
Causes a reduction in ductility of the metal due to absorption of hydrogen

Pickup of hydrogen from:

Processing - Melting
Fabrication - Welding/Electropolishing
Service in a hydrogen environment - Sour gas / refineries
General characteristics of Hydrogen embrittlement:

More susceptible in high strength steels > 1240

MPa

Failure does not occur below a critical stress

Sensitive to strain rate and temperature

Delayed failure Static fatigue

Hydrogen embrittlement is reversible

 MAIN CHARACTERISTIC OF HYDROGEN EMBRITTLEMENT

PHOTOMICROGRAPHS SHOWING BLISTERS AROUND INCLUSION

AND DECOHESION OF THE INCLUSION FROM THE MATRIX IN A
FAILED AISI 106 Gr. B PIPE
Fracture Mechanics
Fracture mechanics has developed into a useful tool in the design of

Crack tolerant structures

Fracture control
Failure Analysis

Fracture mechanics provide quantative information on

Circumstances that lead to the failure
Take preventive measures to avoid recurrence of failures

Fracture mechanics is the mathematical analysis:

Mechanical process that lead to fracture failure.

Analysis based on established procedure used in solid mechanics
Analysis concepts employ
Stress and strain field in a cracked body
Strain energy change during cracking and fracture.
Fracture Mechanics analysis based on:
Theory of elasticity -- Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM)
Plastic deformation is excessive-- Elastic Plastic Fracture Mechanics (EPFM)
-- Non Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (NLEFM)
Cracking -- Subcritical Fracture Mechanics (SCFM )

Condition for the onset of Fast Fracture

a = EGc
Gc = Energy absorbed by unit area of the crack; Toughness (J/m2)
= Stress ; a = critical size of the crack
a = K = Stress intensity factor (MNm-3/2)

Fast fracture occurs when K = Kc ; Kc = EGc

Kc = Critical stress intensity factor or Fracture Toughness
DIAGNOSIS AT AN EARLY STAGE IS AN
ESTABLISHED WAY TO AVOID FAILURE

NEW TECHNIQUES & PROCEDURES

ACOUSTIC EMISSION TECHNIQUE LEAK TESTING IN PHWR
EDDY CURRENT TESTING IN PHWR

ROBOTICS
REACTOR VESSEL INSPECTION
STEAM GENERATOR INSPECTION (ISI)

IN-SITU REPAIR TECHNOLOGY

END SHIELD
PRESSURE TUBE REPLACEMENT
 AIMING FOR ZERO FAILURE
EXPERT SYSTEM ON FAILURE ANALYSIS
SIGNAL ANALYSIS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
-- DEFECT CHARACTERISTION
INTELLIGENT PROCESSING OF MATERIALS
INTELLIGENT CORROSION MONITORING AND
SMART SENSORS
 * OPEN
* LOGIC

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* ANALYTICAL
N
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I * REALISTIC
N
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G
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R * INTEGRITY
U
* FIELD SENSE

* CONVICTION & HUMILITY

 CONCLUSION
Engineering failure investigation is a detective
process of determining why and how things went
wrong.
Failure investigation helps us to improve the
reliability and safety of machinery / plant and also
contributes to the enhanced productivity in addition
to preventing many industrial accidents.
Systematic investigations carried out on many
failed components has also generated a wealth of
useful information.