Metallurgical Engineer

A metallurgical engineer, a.k.a., a metallurgist is best equipped to analyze a metal failure. An accident or failure of a metal component, whether it is a simple consumer product such as a hammer or chisel, or a complex multi-component machine such as an airplane or a space shuttle will normally not be a "simple" failure. Failures are normally complex where often two, three or more separate but necessary circumstances or events are required to simultaneously or sequentially occur to cause the failure or accident. A metallurgical engineer/metallurgist's analysis of a metal failure may include many of the following: scene/site examination and documentation (including photo documentation), evidence preservation, library/standards/literature review, laboratory testing, exemplar testing, engineering calculations, data and file analysis, and report preparation.