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Design For Reliability and Quality: IIT, Bombay
Design For Reliability and Quality: IIT, Bombay
5
Design for Reliability and
Quality
IIT, Bombay
Lecture
1
Failure Mode and Effect Analysis
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Instructional objectives
By the end of this lecture, the students are expected to learn
(a) the principle, basic structure, procedure followed and the importance of Failure Mode and
Effect Analysis (FMEA), and
(b) how to effectively apply and sustain FMEA to any process, product or system.
What is FMEA?
A failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) is a process by which the identification and the
evaluation of potential failure modes for a system, product, component or a process is done for
classification by the severity and likelihood of the failures. A successful FMEA activity helps to
identify potential failure mode, its causes, identifying the impact of these potential failures and
then prioritizing actions to reduce or eliminate these failures out of the system with the minimum
of effort and resource expenditure, thereby reducing development time and costs. Failure
modes are faults or defects in a design, component, or system, especially those that affect the
intended function of the product and or process, and can be potential or actual. Effects
analysis refers to studying the consequences of those failures. The underlying principle of FMEA
is to resolve potential problems before they occur, enhancing safety, and increasing customer
satisfaction
FMEA History
FMEA was first described in US Armed Forces Military Procedures in 1949. Later, various
groups and departments of NASA used FMEA principles under variety of names in mid 1950s
and 1960s. Ford Motor Company published instruction manuals for FMEA in the 1980s and the
automotive industry collectively developed standards in the 1990s. Engineers in a variety of
industries have adopted and adapted the tool over the years.
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reasons. Various failure modes of the mechanical components can be classified in the following
four groups.
[1] Excessive elastic deformation that is temporary and reversible resulting in stretching of
metallic bonds.
[2] Excessive plastic deformation which is permanent and irreversible, and can lead to
thinning of cross-sectional area with increased stress concentration.
[3] Fracture which refers to breaking or rupture of a component into two or more pieces as a
result of stress.
[4] Loss of required part geometry through corrosion or wear that may lead to loss or material
directly affecting the geometry of the component.
In general, the failure of mechanical parts can occur due to a variety of reasons. Some of the
most common failure modes for a mechanical component are mentioned below.
[a] Force and/or Temperature-Induced elastic as well as plastic Deformation
[b] Ductile and Brittle failure
[c] Fatigue that includes high-cycle and low-cycle fatigue, thermal fatigue, surface fatigue,
impact fatigue, corrosion fatigue and fretting fatigue.
[d] Corrosion due to direct chemical attack, galvanic corrosion, crevice and pitting corrosion,
intergranular corrosion, selective leaching, biological corrosion, stress corrosion, corrosion
due to erosion, hydrogen induced corrosion, etc.
[e] Wear [adhesive wear, abrasive wear, corrosive wear, wear due to deformation, impact,
fretting and surface fatigue]
[f] Impact [deformation, wear and fracture due to impact, impact fretting and fatigue]
[g] Fretting [fatigue, wear and corrosion due to fatigue]
[h] Galling and seizure
[i] Creep related failure, combined creep and fatigue.
[j] Thermal shock and thermal relaxation.
[k] Buckling due to static or dynamic load or due to creep.
[l] Localized oxidation
[m] Radiation damage
[n] Bonding failure and / or delamination
[o] Erosion
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FAILURE ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES
Various techniques are used to identify the mode of failure of a part or component. Following are
some of the major techniques
Field inspection
The most useful and primary approach is to inspect the failure on site as soon as the failure has
occurred. This visit should be documented in detail with photographs and should also contain
insights from the various personnel involved in operation and maintenance of the component. If
possible the failed component should be brought back to laboratory for more detailed study,
Macroscopic examination
This type of examination is done at a magnified scale of 1x to 100x range. The main purpose of
this is to observe the gross features of the fracture and presence or absence of cracks, defects,
corrosion or oxidation. Working at such magnification it should be possible to make an initial
assessment of the origin of fracture and other defects and thus narrow down the region of the
fracture for further study at higher magnification.
Microscopic Examination
This type of examination is made at a magnification greater than 100x for microstructure
analysis. To achieve such magnification we need instruments like Scanning Electron Microscope
(SEM), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), X-ray microprobe analyzer and so on.
Microstructure analysis is essential because it helps to identify important features like grain size,
inclusion size, crack growth, arrangement of phases and so on and give a better understanding of
the microstructure and the cause of failure.
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Why do FMEA’s?
FMEA has been an indispensable tool for industries such as aerospace, automobile industries and
Government agencies (Army, Navy, Air Force, etc) because of the following reason
• Improves design by discovering unanticipated failures
• Highlights the impact of the failures
• Provides a method to characterize product safety
• It records and documents the logic of the engineers and related design and process
considerations
• It is an indispensable resource for new engineers and future design and process decisions.
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consider the impact the effect would have on the customer, on downstream operations, or
on the employees operating the process. The severity ranking is based on a relative scale
ranging from 1 to 10. Table 5.1.1 depicts relative severity and corresponding rankings.
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evaluate the current process controls in place. The Detection ranking scale, like the
Severity and Occurrence scales, is on a relative scale from 1 to 10 as shown in Table
5.1.3.
Table 5.1.3 Likely detection of failures and corresponding ranking
Rank Occurrence Rank Occurrence
1 Extremely Likely 6 Moderately Low Likelihood
2 Very High Likelihood 7 Low Likelihood
3 High Likelihood 8 Very Low Likelihood
4 Moderately High Likelihood 9 Remote Likelihood
5 Medium Likelihood 10 Extremely Unlikely
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results of actions. Detection may or may not be lowered based upon the results of actions.
If severity, occurrence or detection ratings are not improved, additional recommended
actions must to be defined
[10] Reevaluate the RPN after the actions are completed
This step is to confirm the action plan had the desired results by calculating the resulting
RPN. To recalculate the RPN, reassess the severity, occurrence, and detection rankings
for the failure modes after the action plan has been completed.
Tables 5.1.4 and 5.1.5 respectively show a typical worksheet and an example of failure mode and
effect analysis for typical failures of engineering components.
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Gas Cooler Component
Component
Conducts heat to the
Function
external environment Function
Blockage in refrigerant Potential Failure
Potential
flow mode
Failure mode
Low cooling capacity, Potential Effect of Potential
increase in pressure Failure Effect of
failure
Severity
Severity
6 Rating Rating
Table 5.1.4
Cause of
Bends, blockages Cause of Failure failure
Table 5.1.5
Rating
Occurrence
2 Rating
Occurrence
Current
Deformation guard; design Control
Current Control
of components
Detection
Rating
Detection
10 Rating
RPN
120
RPN
Recommended
Parallel procedures, Action
pressure sensor switched in
Recommended
front of the gas cooler, Responsibility
Action
plausibility control via and Target
regulation control completion date
Responsibility and
Mr. Rahul
Target completion Action taken
17th May 2012
An example of Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA)
date
Sev
Schematic worksheet for Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA)
Sev
Det
2
Occ
Action Result
Det RPN
Action Result
72
RPN
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Applications and Benefits for FMEA
• The Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) procedure is a tool that has been
adapted in many different ways for many different purposes.
• It can contribute to improved designs for products and processes, resulting in higher
reliability, better quality, increased safety, enhanced customer satisfaction and reduced
costs.
• The tool can also be used to establish and optimize maintenance plans for repairable
systems and/or contribute to control plans and other quality assurance procedures.
• It provides a knowledge base of failure mode and corrective action information that can
be used as a resource in future troubleshooting efforts and as a training tool for new
engineers.
• Cost effective tool for maximizing and documenting the collective knowledge,
experience, and insights of the engineering and manufacturing community for the
particular product or system
Further advancements
1. SFMEA
When FMEA is applied to interaction of parts it is called System Failure Mode and
Effects Analysis (SFMEA)
2. DFMEA
When applied to a product it is called a Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
(DFMEA)
3. PFMEA
When applied to a process it is called a Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
(PFMEA).
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Exercises
1. Prepare and evaluate a FMEA table for a bicycle pedal.
References
1. G Dieter, Engineering Design - a materials and processing approach, McGraw Hill,
NY, 2000.
2. http://www.qualitytrainingportal.com/resources/fmea/fmea_10step_pfmea.htm
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