Failure and damage investigation

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.

When failure or damage occurs, you need to gather all the background knowledge and documentation that you can. Visible damage often covers up the actual reason and it is the latter you wish to identify quickly. For example, if a fracture turns out to be the starting point of the actual failure, it should be closely investigated.

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.

We provide many kinds of Non-destructive testing (NDT), destructive testing (DT), metallurgical examinations and calculations of strength to determine how the failure or damage occurred. Our specialists include experts at strength calculations, fracture mechanics, metallurgists, concrete and polymer specialists who are involved from case to case to solve your specific problem.

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.

FORCE Technology employs specialists, who can assist you with calculation and material challenges so that similar damages and failure will not happen again. We are also capable of reviewing your structure and alter your design parameters if necessary.

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.

FORCE technology can define the problem and then assist you to protect yourself against the same damage in future by modifying materials or procedures as appropriate.

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.

We have a wide range of material specialists who can advise you on the heat treatment of metals, the properties of materials, surface treatments and assess whether the material is in accordance with the materials certificate. If it suspected that the mechanical properties of your material are not sufficient, we are able to perform destructive tests and investigate this.

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.

In all instances, FORCE Technology is an impartial party focusing on the professional issues for you. The sooner we get involved, the faster the problem will be resolved.