Delving Deeper into Failure Analysis: Fractography

Failure analysis is a critical process to identify the root cause of product failure. By understanding the underlying reasons for failure, proactive steps to prevent future occurrences, improve product reliability, and enhance overall quality can be taken. This webinar series will provide a comprehensive overview of the key steps involved in conducting a thorough failure analysis. At the end of this series, attendees will be equipped with the knowledge and tools to effectively investigate failures and implement corrective actions.

Fractography plays a critical role in failure analysis, particularly in identifying the failure mode. Cracking occurs as a result of the exertion of stresses, both external and internal, on a component. Cracking is simply a stress relief mechanism in which the material is attempting to reach a lower energy state. Plastics fail through a disentanglement mechanism in which polymer chains slide past each other.

The features on the fracture surface are created based upon a number of parameters:

• Type of material and formulation constituents;
• Type of applied forces (tensile, compression, shear);
• Magnitude of forces;
• Frequency of forces (continuous, intermittent, rapidly applied);
• Environmental effects (temperature, presence of chemical).

Much of the information regarding the failure mechanism can be gleaned by interpreting the features found on the fracture surface. The examination and interpretation of the fracture surface is known as fractography. This presentation explores some common plastics failure mechanisms and the associated telltale features.