Failure Analysis Webinar: Cracking the Case: From Fracture Surface to Root Cause

Determining the true cause of a failure may seem to be a mysterious or hidden process. However, effective failure analysis is conducted through a disciplined, methodical process to ensure impartiality and to hold up under questioning and challenge.  In this webinar, we will discuss the principles and values of failure analysis through presenting a series of real-world case studies, including failures of rotating equipment, engines, piping and welds, and electrical equipment. Participants will have the opportunity to “read” fracture surfaces to conduct their own failure analyses, and to identify limitations in their own assessments based on the information provided.

Agenda:

• Introduction: Why failures get misdiagnosed, and what a rigorous analysis actually delivers.
• Principles of failure analysis: The methodical process: evidence preservation, sequencing hypotheses, distinguishing cause from consequence, and building defensibility.
• Learning to read a fracture surface: Ductile vs. brittle fracture, fatigue features, and determining origin and direction of crack propagation.
• Interactive case studies
• Knowing the limits: Common biases, over-reading evidence, and how to state findings with appropriate confidence.
• Q&A