Failure Analysis

JFP Technical Services, Inc. materials and metallurgical laboratory provides expertise in failure analysis. Our testing and reports can help prevent future process breakdowns and product recalls, saving your reputation and your money. This is a function of thorough analysis and expert implementation of diverse testing procedures.

Above: SEM topographic image of polished surface of type 304 stainless tube. Black area is a corrosion deposit, caused by crevice corrosion. See EDX Spectrum below for presence of chlorine.

A selection of JFP Technical failure analysis projects:

Consumer demand becomes increasingly exacting, while competition limits profit margins. This creates a relentless pursuit for a zero failure rate. When a failure occurs, JFP Technical Services helps determine the cause of the failure and can recommend corrective actions to reduce the chance of future failures.

As an example, a weldment cracks in service causing a product failure. We can address the full range of issues that might cause this: material defects, the welding process itself, and the unexpected impact of field conditions on the design.

Industrial processes are pressed to (and beyond) the limit. A chemical agitator shaft breaks, breaking the production stream and scrapping the batch. The cost in material, idle man-hours, and delayed delivery can be substantial.

JFP Technical Services can resolve the possible causes of the breakdown such as shock, fatigue, corrosion, stress corrosion, etc. We can recommend a better material or fabrication method. We can also set the parameters for programmed maintenance to ensure that downtime is a function of planning and not accident.

Litigation may result from an auto accident. The stakes are often raised by both the increasing costs of medical care and the tendency is to go after the company with the deepest pockets.

JFP Technical Services, operating as a third party, is called to assess components suspected of causing the accident. Did the wheel, bolts, or tie rod, for example, break before or after the accident? Whatever the answer is, there will be rigorous cross-examination, and only the most diligent attention to detail and robust modeling will stand the strain.

Assembly and Component Failure Analysis:

Adhesive, Plating and Coating
Automotive, Truck and Aerospace
Circuit Boards and Solid State Electronics
Consumer Products and Equipment
Fastener, Bearing and Gear
Medical Products
Metals - Ferrous and Nonferrous
Plastic and Rubber Products
Tool and Die
Tubular Products
Weldment, Casting and Forging

Causes of Failure:

Corrosion and Stress Corrosion
Wear and Fatigue

- Overload Failures
- Embrittlement Failures
- Ductile-Brittle Failures

Steel Quality - Bar, Tube and Sheet

- Seams
- Nonmetallic Inclusions
- Skin Laminations
- Pipe Laminations
- Center Segregation

Process Troubleshooting:

- Chemical Reactors and Mills
- Forging and Cold Forming
- Heat Treating - Annealing, Hardening, Normalizing
- Machining - Turning, Milling, Grinding, Polishing
- Roll Forming and Tube Mills

EDX (Energy Dispersive X-Ray) elemental analysis reveals the presence of chlorine (Cl) at corrosion deposit.

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