Failure analysis is the process of collecting and analyzing data to determine the cause of a failure.

What is a Failure? 

Failure is a situation where an engineered system or component cease to perform according to its designated manner of use.

There are many examples of failure we all know from our daily experience starting with a key breaking inside a lock and all the way to such catastrophic events as plane crashes or the collapse of a bridge.

What are the possible causes of failure? 

One could divide the possible causes of failure into four main categories:

  1. Defficient design
  2. Improper material selection
  3. Inadequate assembly
  4. Aggrevation of service environment

How is failure analysis carried out? 

The failure analysis process is composed of several stages:

  1. Scene documentation
  2. Macroscopic evaluation of components
  3. Microscopic evaluation consisting of various methods
    Metallography
    Fractography
    Chemical analysis
  4. Mechanical properties determination
  5. Analysis of the obtained results and production of a final report