SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Electronic and Electrical Component Analysis

Failure Prevention of Structural Components

Structural System and Component Failure Analysis

Root Cause Failure Diagnosis

Gas Turbine Technology Center

	For life assessment studies, staff members perform fractography on critical aircraft structures, such as this wing spar, to identify crack initiation sites and growth rates.

Failure analysis involving the investigation of mechanical, structural, electrical, and electronic component failures has been an area of research at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) for more than 50 years. Because SwRI is an independent, nonprofit research and development organization that neither manufactures nor endorses industrial products, its investigations are impartial and unbiased, and client confidentiality is maintained.

Purpose of Failure Analysis

A multidisciplinary approach to failure analysis helps isolate the causes of catastrophic failures and identify a root to cause or causes; as a result, recommendations to prevent future problems can be made. This multidisciplinary approach can include:

	Drawing on experience from past projects, multidisciplinary resources, and client input, SwRI staff members collaborate to determine failure mechanisms and root causes, such as on the fracture surface of this failed drive shaft.		Using a scanning electron microscope equipped with a servo-hydraulic loading stage, SwRI can perform controlled crack growth studies at high magnifications, as well as determine fracture morphologies and microstructural anomalies of failed components.

• Traditional forensic methods

• Vibrational analysis

• Dynamic analysis

• Finite element modeling

• Corrosion testing

• Other techniques as required

The SwRI Materials Engineering Department specializes in failure analysis for several industries, including:

• Power generation

• Aerospace

• Oil, gas, and petrochemical

• Manufacturing and transportation

• Medical devices

Power Generation Failure Analysis

Fossil fuel, nuclear, and combined-cycle power companies use materials and structures under demanding environmental conditions for long periods of time. As the years of service increase, the possibility of failure grows.

SwRI has extensive experience conducting power plant investigations. Programs range from identifying the cause of boiler tube, complex compressor, and turbine component failures, to investigating radioactive components such as vent lines, pipes, and valves. This experience and an in-house radioactive materials laboratory make SwRI a leader in power industry failure analysis.

Failure Analysis for the Oil, Gas, Chemical, and Nuclear Industries

Producing, refining, and processing oil, gas, and chemical products degrade equipment that must operate in highly corrosive environments. Failure mechanisms include:

• Stress corrosion cracking

• Hydrogen sulfide attack

• Erosion-corrosion

• Fatigue

• Caustic attack

• Acid pitting

• Hydrogen embrittlement

	SwRI characterized cracks in the storage tanks of this liquid natural gas tanker. After performing analyses, SwRI recommended repairs to extend the service life of the tanker.

In addition to a laboratory dedicated to corrosion tests, SwRI has proven expertise in identifying and solving problems in the field. Past investigations have identified failures in:

• Rupture disks

• Heat exchangers

• Boiler tubes

• Drill collars

• Oil well tubing

• Pressure vessels

• Steel and polymer pipelines for gas and liquids

Manufacturing and Transportation Failure Analysis

The automobile, textile, and shipping industries fabricate products using both conventional and advanced manufacturing technologies. Failures can occur during manufacturing or while the product is in service. SwRI has conducted failure investigations for numerous product support and manufacturing operations, studying a wide variety of components and equipment, such as:

• Springs

• Pistons

• Forged parts

• Conveyor systems

	SwRI conducts failure analyses of medical equipment, such as this catheter wire and needle used in a radiation therapy device.

SwRI failure analysts investigate ways to improve product life with the latest technological developments. Examples include fuels and lubricants research and new coatings for improved lubrication and reduced wear. SwRI experts also refine fabrication practices, ranging from welding techniques for submersible pressure vessels to the superplastic forming of parts.

Failure Analysis for Medical Applications

Advances in medical equipment and biomedical technology have generated a variety of uses for common materials and new, biocompatible materials for equipment and implanted devices. The complex interactions of stress, friction, wear, and chemical attack that occur in the human body can cause material-related failure. SwRI researchers investigate failure mechanisms in biomedical implants and medical equipment, such as wear and delamination in orthopedic service. In addition, the material, mechanical, and chemical properties of devices are characterized following long-term service.

Multidisciplinary Centers

Forensic Testing Capabilities
Steam Turbine Technology
Nuclear Power Industry
Oil and Gas
Gas Turbine Technology   Root Cause Failure Analysis Troubleshooting Turbomachines Gas Turbine Technology and Engineering Services Gas Turbine Technology Center
Rotating Machinery Group: Root Cause Failure
Aerospace
Piping
Wind Turbine
Mechanical Testing Capabilities   Solid and Fracture Mechanics Laboratory Applied Solid and Fracture Mechanics
Corrosion Testing Capabilities   Corrosion Evaluation and Mitigation Technologies Stress Corrosion Cracking
Electronic and Electrical Components
Nondestructive Testing

Failure Analysis Contact Information

• For more information about electronic and electrical component failure analysis, or how you can contract with SwRI, please visit the Electronic and Electrical Component Analysis website or contact Stan Silvus at ssilvus@swri.org or (210) 522-2742.
   

• For more information about our failure prevention of structural components capabilities, or how you can contract with SwRI, please visit the Failure Prevention of Structural Components website or contact Richard A. Page, Ph.D., at rpage@swri.org or (210) 522-3252, or N. Sastry Cheruvu, Ph.D., at scheruvu@swri.org or (210) 522-2492.
   

• For more information about our structural system and component failure analysis capabilities, or how you can contract with SwRI, please visit the Structural System and Component Failure Analysis brochure or contact Richard A. Page at rpage@swri.org or (210) 522-3252.
   

• For more information about our medical application failure analysis capabilities, or how you can contract with SwRI, please visit the Biomedical Failure Analysis web page or contact  Keith Bartels, Ph.D., at kbartels@swri.org or (210) 522-6062.

For more information about our root cause failure diagnosis capabilities, or how you can contract with SwRI, please visit the Root Cause Failure Diagnosis web page of the Gas Turbine Technology Center web site or contact Klaus Brun, Ph.D. at kbrun@swri.org or (210) 522-5449.

| SwRI Technical Divisions | SwRI Home |

Southwest Research Institute^® (SwRI^®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 11 technical divisions.

January 03, 2013