Metallurgical Failure Analysis

Metallurgical Failure Analysis is a scientific process in which a cracked or fractured piece of equipment or weld is analyzed to determine the cause of failure.  Metallurgical failure analysis begins with visual examination, photo-documentation and microscopic examination.  This non-destructive phase of examination may be followed by laboratory testing.  The laboratory phase of metallurgical failure analysis involves cutting samples from fractured or cracked, conducting a microscopic examination of the fracture or crack, cutting, mounting and polishing samples for scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), microstructural examination, microhardness testing and profiling, chemical analysis, etc. The goal of the process is usually to ascertain why the component cracked or fractured, i.e., causation of the crack or failure.