ME184903

Damage Analysis and Troubleshooting

WORBOOK

2 Metallurgical
Failure Analysis Part 1

Course Instructor:
Dwi Priyanta

Department of MarineRev. Aug 2022

Engineering
EDUCATE – ENHANCE – EMPOWER
 ME 184903 Damage Analysis and Workbook 2 : Metalurgical Failure Analysis
Troubleshooting

CONTENTS

Contents
1. OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................. 3

1. TYPES OF FAILURES ............................................................................................................... 3

2. METALLURGICAL FAILURE ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY ........................................................ 3

3. FAILURE ANALYSIS OF BOLTED JOINTS ................................................................................. 4

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 Read Chapter 2 of the textbook and answer the following questions.

1. Overview
2. List the primary failure modes and their causes commonly
found in metallurgical failures.
➢ Deformation and distortion
➢ Fracture and separation
a. ductile fractures
b. brittle fractures
c. fatigue fractures
d. environmentally affected fractures
➢ Surface and material changes
a. corrosion
• uniform corrosion
• pitting corrosion
• intergranular corrosion
➢ Stress-corrosion cracking
➢ Hydrogen damage
➢ Corrosion fatigue
➢ Elevated temperature failures
a. creep
b. stress rupture

3. Who can apply the basic technique of failure analysis and when
can it be applied to diagnose mechanical cause of failure?
A trained person can use the basic techniques of failure analysis to
diagnose the mechanical causes behind a failure, without having to
enlist outside sources and expensive analytical tools like electron
microscopes. And to know when a failure happened, the investigator
can pursue the underlying causes of the failure event. Other main
important thing is a trained person must have certification that
acknowledges the quality of itself

4. When the basic technique of failure analysis cannot be applied?

Briefly outlined what to do in order root cause can be found
accurately.
When 90 percent accuracy is not good enough. When personal injury
or a large loss is possible, a professional should guide the analysis.
To interpret a failure accurately,
➢ analyst has to gather all pertinent facts and then decide what
caused the failure.

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➢ the analyst should develop and follow a logic path that ensures a
critical feature will not be overlooked.
➢ Understand how parts function.
➢ Determine allowable tolerances or inaccuracies.
➢ Measure and verify. Never overlook the effects of allowing several
deviations to combine.

5. Supposed that you are assigned to investigate a component failure,

outline a step-by-step activities / tasks you should do.
➢ Decide what to do. How detailed an analysis is necessary. By
decide how important the analysis is. If the failure is relatively
insignificant, in cost and inconvenience, it deserves a cursory
analysis; the more detailed steps can be ignored. at this stage for
critical failures require true root cause failure analysis (RCFA)
➢ Find out what happened. The most important step in solving a
plant failure is to seek answers soon after it happened and talk to
the people involved. Do not leave until you have a good
understanding of exactly what happened and the sequence of
events leading up to it
➢ Make a preliminary investigation. Examine the broken parts,
looking for clues. Do not clean them yet because cleaning could
wash away vital information. Document the conditions accurately
and take photographs from a variety of angles of both the failed
parts and the surroundings
➢ Gather background data. What are the original design and the
current operating conditions? While still at the site, determine the
operating conditions and compare the difference between actual
operating conditions and design conditions. Look at everything
that could have an effect on machine operation.
➢ Determine what failed. After you leave the site and the
immediate crush of the failure, look at the initial evidence and
decide what failed firstdthe primary failuredand what secondary
failures resulted from it. Sometimes these decisions are very
difficult because of the size of analysis that is necessary.
➢ Find out what changed. Compare current operating conditions
with those in the past. Has surrounding equipment been altered
or revised? Some failure examples have their mechanical roots in
changes that took place years before the parts actually failed.
➢ Examine and analyze the primary failure. Clean the component
and look at it under low-power magnification, 5x to 50x. What
does the failure surface look like? From the failure surface,
determine the forces that were acting on the part. Were
conditions consistent with the design? With actual operation? Are
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there other cracks or suspicious signs in the area of the failure?
Important surfaces should be photographed and preserved for
reference.
➢ Characterize the failed piece and the support material.
Perform hardness tests, dye penetrant and ultrasonic
examinations, lubricant analysis, alloy analysis, etc. Examine the
failed part and the components around it to understand what they
are. Check to see if the results agree with design conditions.
➢ Conduct detailed chemical and metallurgical analyses.
Sophisticated chemical and metallurgical techniques may reveal
clues to material weaknesses or minute quantities of chemicals
that may cause unusual fractures.
➢ Determine the failure type and the forces that caused it.
Review all the steps listed. Leaving any questions unasked or
unanswered reduces the accuracy of the analysis.
➢ Determine the root causes. Find out the failure happen in the
first place by expose areas where huge advances can be
realized. However, these problems have to be dealt with
differently; people will have to recognize personal errors and to
change the way they think and act.

1. Types of Failures
6. Determine the categories of metallurgical failure.
➢ Overload. Applying a single load causes the part to deform or
fracture as the load is applied.
➢ Fatigue. Fluctuating loads over a relatively long time cause this
type of failure and usually leave obvious clues.
➢ Corrosion-influenced fatigue. Corrosion substantially reduces
the fatigue strength of most metals and eventually causes failure
at relatively light loads.
➢ Corrosion. The failure is the result of the electrical or biological
action of the corrosion, causing a loss of material.
➢ Wear. A variety of mechanisms result in loss of material by
mechanical removal

2. Metallurgical Failure Analysis Methodology

7. Develop a checklist what should be accomplished during
metallurgical failure analysis.
1. Collection of background data and selection of samples.

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2. Preliminary examination of failed part (visual examination and
record keeping).
3. Nondestructive testing.
4. Mechanical testing (including hardness and toughness testing).
5. Selection, identification, preservation and/or cleaning of all
specimens.
6. Macroscopic examination and analysis (fracture surfaces,
secondary cracks and other surface phenomena).
7. Microscopic examination and analysis.
8. Selection and preparation of metallographic sections.
9. Examination and analysis of metallographic sections.
10. Determination of failure mechanism.
11. Chemical analyses (bulk, local, surface corrosion products,
deposits or coatings and microprobe analysis).
12. Analysis of fracture mechanics.
13. Testing under simulated service conditions (special tests).
14. Analysis of all evidence leading to formulation of conclusions.
15. Writing of report including recommendations.

8. Develop a diagram shows the classification of failure causes in metals.

9. Develop a checklist that can be used as an aid in analyzing the

evidence derived from metallurgical examinations and tests.
1. Has failure sequence been established?
2. If the failure involved cracking or fracture, have the initiation
sites been determined?
3. Did cracks initiate at the surface or below the surface?
4. Was cracking associated with a stress concentrator?
5. How long was the crack present?
6. What was the intensity of the load?
7. What was the type of loading: static, cyclic, or intermittent?
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8. How were the stresses oriented?
9. What was the failure mechanism?
10. What was the approximate service temperature at the time of
failure?
11. Did temperature contribute to failure?
12. Did wear contribute to failure?
13. Did corrosion contribute to failure? What type of corrosion?
14. Was the proper material used? Is a better material required?
15. Was the cross section adequate for class of service?
16. Was the quality of the material acceptable in accordance with
specification?
17. Were the mechanical properties of the material acceptable in
accordance with specification?
18. Was the component that failed properly heat treated?
19. Was the component that failed properly fabricated?
20. Was the component properly assembled or installed?

10. Develop an outline of a metallurgical failure report.

1. Description of the failed component.
2. Service conditions at time of failure.
3. Prior service history.
4. Manufacturing and processing history of component.
5. Mechanical and metallurgical study of failure.
6. Metallurgical evaluation of quality.
7. Summary of failure-causing mechanism(s).
8. Recommendations for prevention of similar failures.

11. What aspects should you consider when doing visual inspection
during failure analysis?
A visual inspection should include observations of colors, corrosion
products, presence of foreign materials, surface conditions (such as
pits and other marks), dimensions, and fracture characteristics.careful
notes and photographs or sketches should be made during this phase
of failure mode inventory.

12. When metallurgist is not available to help with metals analysis, how
can you identify whether the failure item is categorized as brittle
fracture or ductile fracture.
in the case of a brittle failure, the broken pieces behave like china.
They are visually smooth and sharp and they fit back together. With
a ductile failure, the pieces are more like taffy. They are distorted
and even if they fit back together, they are no longer the right shape.
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13. Develop a table that describe the ductile-brittle relationship for
the following factors: temperature, Rate of loading, Geometry,
Size, Type of loading, Pressure (hydrostatic), Strength of metal.

source : Machinery Failure Analysis an Troubleshooting_Volume2_Edition4 page 16

14. In case you need to identify unknown metal during failure
analysis, what tests should you perform to identify unknown
material?
The way we test the damage part, we must analyze the material
of part, if the material is unknown we can do some qualitative
toes to determined the type pf material

source : Machinery Failure Analysis and Troubleshooting_Volume2_Edition4

page 21

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3. Failure Analysis of Bolted Joints

15. Find statistic data concerning failure causes and failure modes of
threaded fasteners.

source : Machinery Failure Analysis and Troubleshooting_Volume2_Edition4

page 22

16. Also find the statistical data concerning failure causes of

bolted joint failures.

source : Machinery Failure Analysis and Troubleshooting_Volume2_Edition4

page 22

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17. List in a table the relation between failure modes and failure
causes of bolted joints.

source : Machinery Failure Analysis and Troubleshooting_Volume2_Edition4

page 23

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18. List some importance installation and maintenance procedures in
order to avoid fastener problems.
The importance of avoid problems is we must know the cause of the
problem.

Source :
Handbook_of_Reliability_Prediction_Procedures_for_Mechanical_Eq
uipment_15_May_2011_pp_352
1. Do not forcefully take out the bolt/ stud if it is harder to turn it out.
Always use sprays (WD-40) or lube oil to ease its way out to avoid
breaking of the stud
2. Before inserting the bolt/stud in the threaded slot, always clean the
hole without fail. Use pressurised air (service air) to clean tiny
debris inside the hole
3. Always lubricate the threads of screw/ bolt with oil before inserting
them into the hole
4. Always use correct size spanner for tightening the nut/bolts to
prevent personal injuries or damage to the nut/bolt. Avoid using
adjustable spanner or wrench to do this job.

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5. Use a washer: Washers can help with the tightening process and
prevent the loosening of nuts and bolts.
6. Use a lock nut: Lck nuts help to prevent loosening and friction by
firmly grasping the nut or bolt.

19. Determine the failure analysis steps relating to bolted joints.

A. Definition of failure mechanism.

a. The bolt failed under static load. Did it occur while tightening?
The fracture surface will usually be at an angle other than 90 to
the bolt axis. This is because the strength of the bolt has been
exceeded by a combination of tension and torsional stress. A
failure in pure tension will usually be at a right angle to the bolt
axis.

b. The bolt failed in fatigue under variable and cyclic loads. High
cycle fatigue will usually be indicated by “beach marks” on the
fracture surface. This might not be conclusive, as the absence of
these marks will not rule out a fatiguerelated failure mechanism.

source : Machinery Failure Analysis and

Troubleshooting_Volume2_Edition4 page 27

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c. Static or fatigue failure from corrosion.

d. The joint failed to perform its design function because clamping

forces fell below design requirements. Possible failure modes are
partial or total separation (displacement), joint slippage
(displacement), fretting of the joint surfaces (corrosion), and vibration
loosening (displacement) of the nut. Consequential failure mode in all
these cases is “leakage.”

B. Design review.

a. The analyst will now estimate or calculate the operating loads and
possible preloads on joint components. If failure was static, he can
refer to suitable references such as the ones listed at the end of this
chapter.

b. If the failure has been caused by cyclic loads, follow up work will be
much more difficult: The analyst will have to determine the endurance
limit of the parts involved in the failure. This may require experiments,
as published data are rare.

C. Special-variables check.

Consider and check the factors that could contribute to the fastener
failure

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