SEM EDS system for material failure analysis

Metal parts or products do not always hold up as expected when in use. When a material failure occurs, it may be necessary to determine the reason the product did not meet expectations. A manufacturer will want to know if the correct material was supplied or if there was a problem with a process (i.e. heat treating, nitriding, brazing) applied to the metal. The product end user may wish to verify that the failed metal product was inadequate and unable to perform for its intended use. Oftentimes, failure research and evaluation of metal testing results are used as evidence in legal cases.

Failure analysis is the process of investigating the cause of a failure and how to prevent a recurrence. Failure analysis testing can provide information to help identify this key information.

Failure analysis investigations begin with a background review of the material or product prior to the failure. This may include gathering details from our customer about the component materials and manufacturing process. The investigation also includes collecting details about the service use of the product, events leading to the material or product failure and a description of the actual failure.

Next, the materials engineers at Laboratory Testing will utilize appropriate mechanical testing,  chemical analysis, metallurgical testing, nondestructive testing and dimensional inspection methods to determine relevant information such as material composition, mechanical properties and the existence of defects. The results of the metals testing and additional research will aid our engineers in determining the source or root cause of the failure and in making recommendations to prevent future recurrences.