FAILURE ANALYSIS &

MAINTENANCE

Total: 250
Final: 180
Term work: 70
 Root-Cause Analysis

Lecture main titles:

- Principles and definition of root-cause analysis.

- Levels of root cause analysis.

- How to analyze the failure problem.

-Root cause analysis main categories.

- To what extent to go deep when and why.

- Example for shallow and deep RCA.

- Case studies,

-Example 1: Drink Mixer Blade Failures.

-Example 2: High-performance air compressor Failure.
-Example 3: Drill Holes in Bicycle Handlebar Failure
 Root-Cause Analysis
Failure analysis is examining the characteristics and causes of equipment failure.
Through considering physical evidence and the use of engineering and scientific
principles.

Analysis of the physical evidence alone may not be enough to reach main causes!!!

The principles of root-cause analysis (RCA) is:

-Root-cause analysis is intended to identify the fundamental cause(s) that if

corrected will prevent future failure.

-RCA is logical charting analysis.

-The concept of RCA does not apply to failures alone, but is applied in response to an
undesirable event or condition .
Root-cause analogy
 Three Levels of RCA

1- Physical roots:
-Directly related to equipment problems, are where many failure analyses stop.
-Comes out of a laboratory investigation or engineering analysis and are often
component-level or materials-level findings.

2- Human roots:
- Involve human factors that caused the failure, an example being an error in
human judgment (i.e., man problem).

3-Latent roots:
- lead us to the causes of the human error.
- Include roots that are due to organization or work procedure inside it.
-Or due to environmental roots and roots outside the area of control.
 How Deep To Go in RCA ?

-According to risk related to part used

- Failed parts in airplanes (very deep).

- Failed house window handle (shallow).

-According to amount of economic losses .

- Failed components in exported products (deep).

- Failed components in small batches (shallow)
 Primary Physical Root Causes of Failure

RCA: Mainly focus on having correct and proper corrective actions.

RCA needs : a team of experts of different branches related to the component type
such as:
-metallurgy,
-mechanical engineering (design , production),
- hydraulics (according to system),
-electrical engineering,
-quality control,
-operations and maintenance,
-human factors, and others.

RCA Team:
-The team leader must be a good communicator,
-have a broad background,
-be able to integrate factors, and be able to select the best expertise for the project.

For less complex failures it is often beneficial to have an individual with a

different practical background.
Example I of Shallow RCA: Pressure Vessel failure Bolt failure

Example II of Deep RCA: Electric Motor Driving Pump /Compressor

Failure
RCA (Failure) Main Categories :

1- Design deficiencies.

2- Material defects.

3- Manufacturing

4- Assembly defects

5- Installation defects

6- Improper service conditions

7- Improper maintenance.
1- Design deficiencies:
Some examples of design deficiencies include unintended stress raisers due to excessively sharp
notches (e.g., in keyways on shafts) or insufficient radii (e.g., on shafts at bearing journals). Other
examples include unexpected residual stresses associated with heat treating configurations designed
with complex geometries, or assembly stresses from parts that contain unwanted interference.
Selection of a material that is incapable of providing adequate mechanical properties for the
application (including strength, fatigue resistance, fracture toughness, corrosion resistance, elevated
temperature resistance, etc.) Design-caused failures include inappropriate geometries (as defined on
the engineering drawing. Examples of inappropriate geometries include improper joint preparation
for welding or brazing, such as an insufficient or missing groove for a groove weld, or inadequate joint
overlap in a brazed joint.

2- Material defects:
Unacceptable imperfections or discontinuities in materials are defects (related to quality control
system). Some of the classical types of material discontinuities include:
Metal product form Types of discontinuities
Forgings: Laps, Bursts, Flakes, Segregation (separation), Cavity shrinkage, Inclusions.
Castings: Porosity, gas, and micro shrinkage, Cavity shrinkage, Segregation, Inclusions.
Plate and sheet: Edge cracking, Laminations, Flakes.
Extrusions and drawn products: Edge cracking, Seams, Steps, Central bursts
3- Manufacturing:

It is defects introduced during the manufacturing process. Some examples of

such manufacturing/installation anomalies are listed below

Metal Removal Processes

· Cracks due to rough machining
· Chatter or checking due to speeds and feeds
· Microstructural damage due to dull tool
· Grinding burn
· Electrical discharge machining recast layer cracking
· Electrochemical machining intergranular attack
· Residual stress cracking due to overheating

Metalworking Processes
· Cracking, or necking due to forming/deep drawing
· Laps due to thread rolling/spinning
· Tool marks and scratches from forming
· Residual stress cracking due to flow forming
· Microstructural damage due to shearing, blanking, piercing
· Laps and cracks due to shot peening
Heat Treatment

· Grain growth
· Incomplete phase transformation
· Quench cracks
· Decarburization
· Inadequate precipitation
· Sensitized microstructure
· Inhomogeneities in microstructure
· Loss of properties due to overheating during post-plating bake

Welding
· Lack of fusion
· Brittle cracking in heat-affected zone (HAZ)
· Sensitized HAZ
· Residual stress cracking
· Slag inclusions
· Cratering of fusion zone at endpoint
· Filler metal contour out of specification
· Hot cracking
· Cracking at low exposure temperatures
· Hydrogen embrittlement due to moisture contamination
· Liquid metal embrittlement from plating contamination
4- Assembly defects:

Including assembly at Factory/Installation at Site:

· Misalignment
· Missing/wrong parts
· Improper fit-up
· Inappropriate fastening system, improper torque
· Improper tools
· Inappropriate modification
· Inadequate surface preparation
 REAL CASSES

Example 1: Ice Cream Drink Mixer Blade

Failures.

Excessive assembly stresses and inappropriate detail design caused the

failures.
Example 1: Ice Cream Drink Mixer Blade Failures.

Excessive assembly stresses and inappropriate detail design caused the failures.

The mixer blade is slightly deformed by the contact between the wavy washer at
the bottom of the assembly and the bends at the bottom shoulders of the two mixer
arms.
1- The screw that fastens the wavy washer and the mixer blade to the spindle in
the centre of the assembly places an upward force on the bottoms of the arms.
2- This results in the observed inward deflection of the arms .
3- Bending force places the inside radii of the two shoulders in tension.
4- Rotational forces add to the tensile loads on the inside radii of the
shoulders.

Analysis:
1- Blades revealed multiple fatigue crack origins on the inside radii of the
bends at the bottom Shoulders .
2-Shoulders on the arms were cold bent, introducing tensile residual stresses
on the inside radii of the shoulders and creating a localized area of fatigue
susceptibility due to the inherent notch sensitivity of cold-formed 300 series
stainless steel.
The physical Root Cause :

1- It is design deficiency of the mixer blade, which defined two bend

areas that contained tensile residual stresses.

2-Tensile assembly stresses, and a material cold working that added

to the normal operating rotational and vibratory stresses.

Corrective-action:

1- Recommendations included the addition of a stand-off washer between

the wavy washer and the bottom shoulders of the blade,

2- Or modification of the shape of the wavy washer to prevent contact

with the blade shoulders as assembled.
 Example 2: High-performance air
compressor Failure
Deficiencies Due to Improper Service Conditions

Due to inlet-flow blockage on a high-performance air compressor resulting in

excessive cyclic loads applied to the blades causing blade and drive shaft
failures.
Failure analysis revealed both the compressor rotor and the shaft sustained
fatigue failures.
Failed compressor rotor. Arrows indicate fractured portions of blades.
Compressor blade fracture surface showing fatigue origins on low
pressure (i.e., right) side of blade, as indicated by the arrows.
Failed compressor rotor shaft. Fracture occurred at radius
between large and small diameters. Arrows indicate some of
fatigue origins.
The physical Root Cause :

Careful fracture analysis revealed fatigue cracks initiated on the low-

pressure side of the blades, which are in compression during normal
compressor operation.

However, when the inlet flow is blocked partially , the blades sustain
alternating tensile forces, one load cycle per revolution, on the low-pressure side of
the blades, resulting in the observed blade fractures.

The shaft failed subsequently, due to the severe imbalance and rubbing caused
by the blade failures.
 Example 3: Drill Holes in Bicycle
Handlebar Failure

Inappropriate Modifications. An example of this would be part-through drill holes in

bicycle handlebar stem resulting in fatigue initiation at holes and subsequent
fracture .
User-modified bicycle handlebar stem failed in service
Multiple fatigue initiations at part-through drill holes in user-
modified bicycle handlebar stem.