Failure Analysis

Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Case Description..............................................................................................................................2
Case Investigation............................................................................................................................3
Recommendations...........................................................................................................................4
Conclusions.......................................................................................................................................5
Reference............................................................................................................................................5

Introduction”
“Failure analysis is the process of collecting and analyzing data to determine the cause of a
failure often with the goal of determining corrective actions or liability. According to Bloch and
Geitner, machinery failures reveal a reaction chain of cause and effect… usually a deficiency
commonly referred to as the symptom. Failure analysis can save money, lives, and resources if
done correctly and acted upon. It is an important discipline in many branches of manufacturing
industry, such as the electronics industry, where it is a vital tool used in the development of
new products and for the improvement of existing products.”

“The failure analysis process relies on collecting failed components for subsequent examination
of the cause or causes of failure using a wide array of methods, especially microscopy and
spectroscopy. Nondestructive testing (NDT) methods (such as industrial computed tomography
scanning) are valuable because the failed products are unaffected by analysis, so inspection
sometimes starts using these methods. Failure testing is an important part of the
manufacturing process, no matter what you are manufacturing. Failure testing is a way to
ensure that you are producing a product and service that will not fail under different
circumstances and situations of stress, weather, temperature, and so on and so forth.”

“Case Description”

“The failure analysis process provides a number of benefits including financial, legal and safety
related outcomes:”

“Understand Root Cause of Failure”

“Understanding the root cause is often the fundamental part of the failure analysis process.
This involves data collection to ascertain whether failure occurred due to manufacturing or
material defect or misuse.”

“Prevent Asset or Product Failures”

“Once the cause of failure has been determined corrective actions can be taken to prevent a
recurrence of the problem.”

“Improve Future Products and Processes ”

“Manufacturing processes and product designs can be improved due to an understanding of

the failure mode, not only to prevent the problem from happening again but also to prevent
costly legal action or replacements as well as protecting a company's reputation.”

“Prevent Financial Losses and Penalties from Failed Components ”

“Failure can be costly, whether due to expensive outages, a stopping of production, or even
legal action as a result. Undertaking failure analysis can prevent these problems from
growing or potential failures from happening in the future.”

“Meet Standards for Products and Assets”

“Failure mode and effects analysis can help to meet standards for manufacturing processes,
failed components, products, or assets going forward.”

“Determine Liability for Failure”

“A failure analysis will not only determine the root cause of the failure, but may also assign
liability for the failure. This can be used in legal proceedings to not only apportion blame but
also protect you from litigation.”

“Case Investigation”

“The magnetron filament resistance was measured and found to be infinite, thus indicating an
open circuit. Resistance between the anode and either filament lead was also found to be
infinite for both. Evidence of arcing inside waveguide at the magnetron antenna (photo 1).
Vacuum seal broken at antenna (photo 2). No evidence of arcing along the length of the
waveguide.”

“The magnetron was disassembled and internally inspected. Heavy oxidation was found on the
anode vanes and straps (photos 3 and 4). No deformation of the anode or antenna structures
was found.”
“Heavy oxidation was also found on the filament, as well as evidence of the open filament wire
(photo 5). The filament wire is otherwise fully intact and shows no other indication of
deformation.”

“Recommendations”

“The microwave generator in which this magnetron was used should never be operated
without the use of a 2-port waveguide isolator (or 3-port circulator and dummy load) to protect
the magnetron from reverse power. Since a circulator and dummy load were delivered along
with the generator, it is presumed these components were installed in a system configuration
for magnetron protection as described in the respective product user manuals that were
delivered with the equipment. However, it is possible that protection may have been
compromised if water flow in the dummy load was not provided according to instructions. The
use of a water flow interlock device can help prevent damage due to lack of water flow.”
“Conclusions”

“Arcing between the antenna and waveguide can only be caused by an excessively high electric
field at the magnetron antenna. The only possible causes are a high level of reverse power (high
VSWR) or an arc that originated somewhere down the waveguide which would then have
traveled to the magnetron antenna (arcing in waveguide always tends to travel toward the
magnetron). Once established between the antenna and waveguide, arcing would have been
sustained as long as microwave power was being generated. The sustained arcing eventually
caused failure of the vacuum seal between the ceramic antenna body and metal cap. The
sudden inrush of air (oxygen) inside the magnetron body while the filament and anode were at
full operating temperature allowed rapid oxidation of the heated metal surfaces. Since the
filament voltage was still being applied, the filament quickly overheated until melting and thus
creating the open circuit. Since there is no evidence of arcing along the length of the
waveguide, our conclusion is that magnetron failure occurred due to high reverse power (high
VSWR) at the magnetron antenna.”

“Reference”

1. “ Bloch, Heinz; Geitner, Fred (1994). Machinery Failure Analysis and Troubleshooting.

Houston, Texas: Gulf Publishing Company. p. 1. ISBN 0-87201-232-8.”
2. “^ Jump up to:a b "Failure Analysis Engineer Salary". PayScale.
3. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j k l
                       Brahimi, Salim; Agiular, Rosme; Christensen, Conrad (7 May
2013). "Shear Key Rod Failure Analysis Report" (PDF) – via Bay Bridge Info.
4. ^ Jump up to:a b Bishop, Katherine (1989). "Experts Ask if Anti-Quake Steps Contributed to
Highway Collapse". NY Times. Retrieved 2018. Check date values in: |access-
date= (help)
5. ^ T-9 Jet Engine Test Cell. Dir. Timothy Kirchner. Defense Visual Information Distribution
Services. DVIDS, 12 Aug. 2013. Web.
6. ^ Brady, Brian (1999). "Failure Analysis". State University of New York at Stony Brook:
Department of Material Science and Engineering. Archived from the original on 2018-
07-08. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
7. ^ Jump up to:a b c Duivis, Rob (7 March 2016). "How do we Test Jet Engines?". Meanwhile at
KLM. Retrieved 8 April 2018.

https://www.smta.org/chapters/files/Houston_Failure_Investigation__-
_Cause_to_Prevention_-_Nash_Asrar.pdf”