SYSTEM

FAILURE
ANALYSIS
 gives your product
teams the tools and
concepts to get at
the root causes of
defects and failures
in complex

WHAT IS A
manufacturing and
engineered systems
 can help you identify
and evaluate all
potential failure
SYSTEM
causes and avoid
just jumping to FAILURE
ANALYSIS?
conclusions about
the perceived
obvious ones
 process of
collecting and
analysing data to
determine a cause
of a failure and how
to prevent it from
recurring
 an important
discipline in many WHAT IS A
branches of
manufacturing SYSTEM
industry, such as the
electronics, where it
is a vital tool used in
FAILURE
the development of
new products and ANALYSIS?
for the improvement
of existing products
 especially
important in
manufacturing and
field use of safety-
critical and mission-
critical equipment
 may be applied to
both products and WHAT IS A
processes
 may be conducted
at the design stage
SYSTEM
and at the field use
stage of a product
FAILURE
life cycle
 much like the work ANALYSIS?
of a detective
DIFFERENT
FAILURE
ANALYSIS
• Failure Data
Collection
• Failure Mode,
METHODS Effects and
Criticality Analysis
AND • Failure Mode and
Effects Analysis

TOOLS • Fault Tree Analysis

• Event Tree Analysis
To accomplish this goal a
special software system
called FRACAS (Failure
Reporting, Analysis and
Corrective Actions
System) should be
used. Collected data are
subject to statistical
analysis. Such system also
gives real-time added FAILURE
value for the organization
and acts like fleet DATA
management
system, safety
COLLECTION
management system,
workflow system with
alerts and escalation and
more.
Many standards and
regulations for aerospace,
defence,
telecommunications,
electronics and other
industries require that FMECA
analysis must be performed
for all
designed/manufactured/ac
quired systems, especially if
FAILURE
they are mission or safety
critical.
MODE,
FMECA includes failure
analysis, criticality analysis
EFFECTS AND
and testability analysis.
FMECA analyses different
CRITICALITY
failure modes and their
effects on the system,
ANALYSIS
classifies and prioritizes end
effects level of importance
(FMECA)
based on failure rate and
severity of the failure effects.
Potential FMEA (Failure
Mode and Effects
Analysis) is analytical
technique utilized as a
mean to assure that, to
the extent possible,
potential failure modes
and their associated
causes/mechanisms FAILURE
have been considered
and addressed.
MODE AND
Corrective actions are EFFECTS
suggested and
selected for ANALYSIS
implementation and (FMEA)
control plan is formed
as a part of the
procedure.
Fault Trees are one of
the most widely used
methods in system
reliability and failure
probability analysis. A
Fault Tree is a graphical
representation of
events in a
hierarchical, tree-like FAULT
structure. It is used to
determine various TREE
combinations of
hardware, software, ANALYSIS
and human failures
that could result in a (FTA)
specified risk or system
failure.
It is an inductive failure
analysis performed to
determine the
consequences of a
single failure for the
overall system risk or
reliability. Event Tree
Analysis uses similar logic
and mathematics as
Fault Tree Analysis, but
EVENT
the approach is different
- FTA uses deductive
TREE
approach (from a
system failure to its
ANALYSIS
causes), while ETA uses
the inductive approach (ETA)
(from basic failure to its
consequences).
Important clues are
discovered
throughout the
investigation that
provides insight into
what may have
caused the failure
and what
HOW TO
contributing factors CONDUCT
may have been
involved. The failure A FAILURE
analyst is aided by
a broad knowledge ANALYSIS
of materials in
general.
Success is more likely
if the analyst is
aware of the failed
material’s
mechanical and
physical properties
and its fabrication
and historical
HOW TO
performance CONDUCT
characteristics. The
analyst must also A FAILURE
possess a working
knowledge of ANALYSIS
structural design and
stress behaviour.
Step one:
Determine when,
where and how the
failure occurred
It is important to visit the failure
site in the field if possible. All
operators involved in the failure
should be interviewed personally.
Determine what the conditions
were at the time of failure. Were
there prior indications suggesting HOW TO
failure was about to occur? Was
the failure gradual or
catastrophic? Was the part CONDUCT
A FAILURE
protected after failure? How was
the fracture handled? Did the
failure involve any fire or other

ANALYSIS
condition which could have
altered the microstructure of the
base metal or of some part of the
sample such as a weld? These
and all other appropriate
questions should provide a basis
for the investigation
Step two:
Collect samples for
laboratory examination
Samples selected should
be characteristic of the
material and contain a
representation of the
failure or corrosive
attack. For comparative HOW TO
purposes, a sample
should also be taken
from a sound and
CONDUCT
normal section. Sampling
handling is a paramount
A FAILURE
issue on which the whole
remaining analysis
ANALYSIS
depends.
Step three:
Take on-site
photographs
Photographs should be
taken of the failed piece of
equipment including the
samples to be removed and
their surroundings. These
should show the relationship
of the questioned area to
the remainder of the piece
HOW TO
of equipment. Additional
photos should be taken of
CONDUCT
the samples after removal to
fully identify them. If more A FAILURE
than one sample is to be
taken, proper designation of
the sample and its location
ANALYSIS
relative to the piece of
equipment should be noted.
Step four:
Visually examine the
sample
Visually examine the sample.
Examine the sample with
unaided eye, hand lens
and/or low magnification
field microscopes. Note the
condition of the accessible
surface documenting all
sorts of anomalies, searching
HOW TO
for cracks, corrosion
damage, the presence of
CONDUCT
foreign material, erosion or
wear damage, or evidence A FAILURE
of impact or other distress.
Also consider the condition
of protective coatings.
ANALYSIS
Manufacturing defects are
important.
Step five:
Identify defects Non-
Destructively
Search for material
imperfections with
a non-destructive
technique such as
radiography,
magnetic particle,
HOW TO
ultrasonic, liquid/dye CONDUCT
penetrant, eddy
current, leak, and/or A FAILURE
acoustic emissions
non-destructive ANALYSIS
testing procedures.
Step six:
Conduct appropriate
chemical analyses
Chemical analysis should be
conducted on the original
material to determine if the
material was of proper type and
grade, whether it met
appropriate standards, and

HOW TO
whether deviation from the
specifications contributed to the
fracture, wear, breaks corrosion
and failure. Wet chemical
analysis, Atomic Absorption, X-ray
Photoelectron, Auger Electron
CONDUCT
and Secondary Ion Mass
Spectroscopy are all potentially
suitable methods of chemical
A FAILURE
analysis, depending on the
particular need of the situation.
The techniques differ in important
ANALYSIS
ways. Other parts of the failure
“system” may also require
analysis, including corrosion
products, coatings and liquids.
Step seven:
Confirm material
composition and
identify contaminants
through EDS analysis
Confirm material composition
and identify contaminants
through EDS analysis. EDS
(Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy)
is an analytical method based
on the differences in energy of
HOW TO
the characteristic x-rays emitted
by the various elements. It is used
in conjunction with scanning
CONDUCT
electron microscopy (SEM) to
identify the elements present at A FAILURE
a particular spot on a sample.
Advantages of EDS are that it is
easily performed and is reliable ANALYSIS
as a qualitative method.
Limitations are that it is only
marginally useful as a
quantitative method.
Step eight:
Analyse via
Fractography
Fractography is used to
determine the mode of
fracture (intergranular,
cleavage, or shear), the
origin of fracture, and
location and nature of
flaws that may have
HOW TO
initiated failure. With this
information, the answer as CONDUCT
A FAILURE
to why a part failed can
usually be determined. The
major use of fractography
is to reveal the relationship
between physical and
ANALYSIS
mechanical processes
involved in the fracture
mechanism.
Step nine:
Analyse via
Metallography
Prepare a laboratory
specimen with care not to
remove inclusions, erode grain
boundaries or compromise
the sample in some other way.
Study structural characteristics
in relation to its physical and
mechanical properties at low
HOW TO
and high magnification.
Metallography for the analyst
may be concerned with pit
CONDUCT
depth, intergranular corrosion,
hydrogen attack and
A FAILURE
ANALYSIS
embrittlement, caustic
embrittlement, stress corrosion
cracking (intergranular or
transgranular), and corrosion,
mechanical or thermal
fatigue.
Step ten:
Conduct Appropriate
Mechanical and
Materials Testing and
Analysis
It may be necessary to
conduct physical tests to
determine if the
mechanical properties of
the materials involved
HOW TO
conform to specifications.
Hardness, tensile strength, CONDUCT
A FAILURE
impact, fatigue resistance,
wear, flexibility and many
other physical tests are
relatively common. These
tests often compare the
ANALYSIS
material in the failed
component with standards.