FAILURE ANALYSIS. ROOT CAUSE FOUND.
Failure analysis is core to mechanical engineering and product design. Understanding how stress develops under the complex loading of vehicle dynamics is crucial to identifying the causes of failure—and to correcting them with an improved component design. Our attitude displays our constant search for an optimal solution, while mitigating failures through all projects, whether commercial or defense.
Analyzing stress to determine the mode of failure and root cause requires the extensive amount of resources that GS Engineering has to offer. For failure and stress analysis, we utilize the latest in technology and analytical tools to evaluate the evidence and help you to make determinations based on factual information. We often categorize the stress failure problems as falling into the categories of design, materials, or manufacturing. The topology (shape) of the component can contribute to stress magnification or simply have certain cross sections that are undersized. Depending on mass considerations, we may alleviate the stress by changing the component topology or, in some cases, employing alternative materials.
To analyze the cause of stress failures, some of the techniques that we utilize for root cause testing include: High Magnification Fracture Analysis, Metallography, Mechanical Property Assessment, Optical and Electron Microscopy, Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), Chemical Analysis, Environmental Compatibility, and Corrosion Analysis. These methods help us isolate material issues from topology or manufacturing variability. In some cases, the nominal design for a component is sufficient to the loading, but variance in machining, fabrication, or even casting quality can be at fault. As a result, we leverage all available technologies and our extensive base of manufacturing experience to pinpoint the key stress factors.
We can integrate these techniques with our other testing, validation, and stress analysis tools and design capabilities to help you implement a successful mitigation strategy.