When you have a metallurgical fracture or failure, a failure analysis can tell you not only the mechanism of failure but also the root cause of that failure.  Common types of metallurgical failures in parts or assemblies are fatigue, overload, corrosion, improper design, or some combination of these failure modes.

A failure analysis typically consists of some or all of the following the analyses:

• Visual inspection and photo documentation

• Non-destructive inspections or measurements

• Material testing to determine compliance with applicable material specifications.  These tests may include:

  • Chemical analysis

  • Tensile testing

  • Hardness testing

  • Charpy impact testing

  • Microstructural analysis

• Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and/or energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS)

• Microstructural analysis

• Stress analysis

• Operational data analysis
   

At Pond Industries LLC, we have the experience and expertise to perform forensic metallurgy on most industrial and rail failures.  Contact us today for a free initial consultation.