Failure and damage investigation
It is cost effective to determine how and why a failure has occurred in order to get to the root of the matter and avoid similar cases later on.
Failure root cause analysis
Failure and damage are normally caused by one or more of the three reasons below:- Failure in design
- Manufacturing defects
- Overload with respect to design, i.e. operating defects.
The above applies whether the damage is caused by fracture, corrosion, wear or other mechanism.
FORCE technology can perform metallurgical examinations of the fracture and fracture surface and together with the historical data, the operating conditions and application we will determine the root causes for the failure.
Inappropriate design
If your failure or damage is caused by a failure of design, the reason may be:- Strength or fatigue under dimensioning
- Incorrect selection of material as regards strength and impact
- Incorrect selection of material as regards corrosion
- Incorrect selection of material as regards wear.
As regards metallurgy, we may assist you on selection of materials taking into consideration corrosion and various kinds of tribology.
Defective manufacturing
Manufacturing defects could be:- Defects in the purchased material or use of incorrect material according to the specification
- Welding defects
- Incorrect heat treatment
- Insufficient surface treatment or damage on the surface.
If the damage or failure occurs due to a welding defect we have welding technicians and specialists who will assist you on improving the fabrication process.
Our NDT-personnel can check your structures and components for defects so that you know the size and location of the defects and whether they are within the allowed parameters. If the defects are outside of the specifications and standards, we can assess their criticality in regard to fracture mechanics and corrosion in order to provide the desired service life.
Operations defect
An operational defect in your structure or component may be caused by a factor that the designer has not considered sufficiently. There are many different types of operational defects. They might be mechanical loads or environmental impacts. A typical example is an unintentional load caused by an accident or lack of knowledge of the design limits.Operational defects may entail failure, thus for us to determine the cause for the fracture, it is important that we know of all events in the service life of the structure.
Contact us quickly when the damage has occurred
Examination of damage or failure can be used to define the cause of accidents or for product enhancement. One use of our reporting is for legal cases as ordered by a court.
Related services

Status assessment and inspection increase safety
If failure is not acceptable, it is necessary to perform a status assessments at suitable intervals

Organisation and planning of operation and maintenance procedures
Avoid downtime and unexpected repair by organising and planning your maintenance.

Materials selection and corrosion protection
Select the correct materials and optimal corrosion protection to get the best conditions for keeping the functionality...