AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 1 -- Welcome to a continuation of our

failure analysis seminar. In this section we
will discuss characteristics of fractures and
conditions that cause them. Caterpillar
product is designed to carry normal loads
throughout its expected life without breaking.
When things do break it is usually the result
of abnormal environments rather than design,
material, or processing problems.
Understanding fracture characteristics helps
us know whether the product or the
environment was the cause of a failure, and
directs us to look in specific areas for more
needed information.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 2 -- All failure analysis becomes much
easier if we follow an organized approach
such as the "Eight Steps of Applied Failure
Eight Steps of Applied Failure Analysis
Analysis”. This helps us put failures in proper
• State the problem clearly perspective, look for facts in logical areas,
• Get organized find root causes more quickly, and build
• Observe and record facts better relationships with customers.
• Think logically with the facts
• Determine most probable root cause
• Communicate
• Correct the problem
• Follow up

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 3 -- In this presentation we will review

conditions that influence crack development.
We'll discuss our product's physical properties
In this presentation… such as strength and hardness along with
• Metal strength various factors that affect them such as
• Loads on parts loading, stress raisers and temperature, all of
which can cause cracks to start. We will also
• Stress raisers discuss cracks that progress slowly or quickly
• Brittle fracture characteristics through metals, and the characteristic surface
• Ductile fracture characteristics features that we can use to classify fractures.
• Fatigue fracture characteristics

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 4 -- Understanding fractures is easier if

we know a little about metal strength and
loading. Parts are designed to carry loads
Metal strength…
without breaking. Increasing load beyond
specification or physically damaging the parts
Weakest link
(handling gouges, wear pits or grooves,
overheating, etc.) can cause failure. We say
` the part breaks at the weakest link in the
chain.
• Overloaded
• Abnormal stress raiser

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 5 -- If we look at the strength of steel

and aluminum versus temperature, we see that
as temperatures raise the strength slowly falls
Metal strength & temperature…
at first. At higher temperatures, strength
begins to decrease more rapidly. While other
Steel
Steel metals have different strength vs. temperature
characteristics, they all lose strength with
Strength
Strength increasing temperatures. If severe overheating
Aluminum occurs, parts may loose strength and break
under normal loading.
Temperature
Temperature

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 6 -- This bearing failure generated

temperatures above 1600°F (871°C) .At these
temperatures the steel connecting rod lost
strength and pulled apart. The shank of the
rod oxidized during overheating. When the
rod cooled these oxides produced different
colors. The light blue, yellow, gray and dark
blue oxides tell us temperatures have been
from 500°F to above 1200°F (260 to 650°C).
After 1200°F (650°C), black oxides form.
Presence of dark blue or black oxides on steel
or cast iron parts indicates extremely high
temperatures have been present.

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 7 -- Caterpillar designs all products to

be much stronger than applied loads and to
wear out before breaking. This graph shows
Load vs. Component life…
the load carrying ability of a material versus
the number of load cycles that have been
applied. Note that if the applied load is less
Cyclic
Cyclic
Endurance
Endurance Limit
Limit than the endurance limit (the maximum load
Load
Load at which fatigue fracture will never occur),
Safety
Safety Factor
Factor
the part will never break. But when the
Design
Design Load
Load
applied load is greater than the endurance
Cycles
Cycles to
to Failure
Failure limit, failure will eventually occur. If loading
is half the endurance limit, we say the
material has a safety factor of two in that
application. Any increase in loading or any
physical damage to the material reduces the
safety factor. Caterpillar products have
generous safety factors to compensate for
normal material defects, manufacturing
problems, and field application problems.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 8 -- When parts have broken, there will
be characteristic features on each fracture
face. Sometimes these characteristics are
Basic terminology…
more clearly seen on one fracture face than on
•• Stress
Stress raiser
raiser –– physical
physical change
change in
in aa part
part the other. Let's review five basic fracture
•• Initiation site – starting point of fracture
Initiation site – starting point of fracture terms before studying these characteristics.
•• Final
Final fracture
fracture –– last
last area
area to
to crack
crack
•• Fast
Fast growing
growing cracks
cracks 1) Stress raisers (or stress concentrators)
–– Brittle
Brittle and
and ductile
ductile are physical irregularities (cracks, grooves,
•• Slow
Slow growing
growing cracks
cracks pits, defects, etc.) on or in a part that
–– Bending fatigue
Bending fatigue concentrate existing stresses.
–– Rotating
Rotating bending
bending fatigue
fatigue
2) Initiation sites are starting locations of
cracks, or the first part of the material to
break. A stress raiser is often found at the
initiation site.

3) Final fracture is simply the ending

location of the crack, or the last of the
material to break.

4) Shock loads and overloads produce

fast cracks, which are usually, rough to the
touch and are results.

5) If cyclic loads are too great, or when

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

part strength is reduced, slow cracks can

develop which are usually smooth to the
touch and are often associated with root
causes.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 9 -- This fracture has a smooth initiation
site at the bottom with slow crack growth
upward to the hole. This weakened the part
and the next load cycle overloaded the
remaining metal, causing the crack to increase
in speed and break the part. Notice the rough
texture produced by the fast portion of this
crack.

Stress Raiser

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 10 -- Stress raisers weaken parts by

concentrating stress in the area of the
irregularity creating a localized overload. The
Stress raisers…
increase varies from about 1.5 for round
grooves to 3.0 for "v" shaped grooves, and
“Physical
“Physical irregularities
irregularities that
that concentrate
concentrate existing
existing stress”
stress”
can be 8.0 or more for surface cracks. In
general, the sharper the irregularity, the
higher the stress concentration.
~1.5
~1.5 ~3.0
~3.0 ~3.0
~3.0 –– 8.0
8.0

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 11 -- Undesirable stress raisers result

from:
Stress raiser examples…
1) fillets, holes or keyways that are too
•• Part
Part Geometry
Geometry •• Process
Process problems
problems sharp,
–– Diameter
Diameter change
change –– Forging
Forging laps
laps
–– Holes
Holes –– Grinder
Grinder burns
burns 2) significant material defects such as
–– Keyways
Keyways –– Quench
Quench cracks
cracks large inclusions, voids or cracks,
•• Material
Material Impurities
Impurities •• Mishandling
Mishandling
–– Inclusions
Inclusions –– Scratches
Scratches 3) manufacturing problems such as
–– Laminations
Laminations –– Rust
Rust
forging laps, quench cracks or grinder cracks,
–– Voids
Voids –– Dents
Dents

4) physical abuse such as scratches, nicks

or gouges, and

5) any wear that produces a stress raiser.

We need to look for stress concentrators at

crack initiation sites since they are often the
"weakest link in the chain".

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 12 -- Loads can be divided into three
general types:
Load Stress Raiser Fracture

• Impact • No • Brittle
1) impact loads
•• Fast/Rough/Result
Fast/Rough/Result
• Single • No • Ductile
2) overloads
overload •• Fast/Rough/Result
Fast/Rough/Result
3) cyclic loads.
• Cyclic • Yes • Fatigue
Load •• Slow/Smooth
Slow/Smooth Fractures can also be divided into three
•• Associated
Associated with
with general types:
the
the root
root cause
cause
1) brittle

2) ductile

3) fatigue.

Impact loads and overloads cause brittle or

ductile fast fractures with rough fracture faces
that are usually results and not root causes.
Cyclic loads produce slow growing fatigue
cracks with smooth fracture faces that start at
stress raisers and are usually associated with

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

root causes. The term brittle and ductile as

applied to fractures should not be confused
with the concept of brittle materials and
ductile materials. It has nothing to do with the
type of material

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 13 -- Impact loads are usually caused by
improper equipment operation or failure of
another component resulting in a sudden
Different Rates of Loading Components…
shock on the part. This results in extremely
Impact
Impact high loads being applied almost
instantaneously in directions the part was not
designed to withstand. The fracture produced
Applied
Applied Overload
Overload can be brittle or ductile depending on part
Load
Load hardness, temperature, load rate, etc. We will
Cyclic
Cyclic discuss more about this in a minute. For
example, impact loading occurs when a piston
Time
Time seizes and comes apart. The rod impacts on
the liner and block creating severe shock
loads that the parts cannot withstand.

Overloads are usually caused by incorrect

application of equipment, a system
malfunction, or failure of one component
shifting additional load to a functioning
component. For example, if one rod bolt
breaks, the other bolt is forced to try and carry
the entire load that overloads the bolt causing
it to stretch and break. Again, the fracture
produced can be brittle or ductile, as we will
see shortly. Overloading occurs over a longer
time period than impact loading.

Cyclic loads usually do not cause fracture

unless loads greater than the endurance limit
are applied, or abnormal stress raisers are
present such as undersize fillet radii, large
material flaws, processing cracks, etc. Under

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

these conditions cyclic loads can initiate

fatigue cracks over a period of many cycles.
Frequently several hundred thousand to
several million load cycles are required to
produce a fatigue fracture. This is why fatigue
cracks are called slow cracks.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 14 -- As mentioned, impact loads and

overloads can cause either brittle or ductile
fractures. As this table shows, brittle fractures
Factors Affecting Fracture…
are more likely to occur in harder materials
•• Brittle
and ductile in softer. Brittle fractures occur
Brittle Fracture
Fracture •• Ductile
Ductile Fracture
Fracture
–– High
High hardness
hardness –– Low
Low hardness
hardness
more often as temperature decreases. With
–– Low
Low temperature
temperature –– High
High temperature
temperature little or no stress concentration, ductile
–– Sharp
Sharp stress
stress raiser
raiser –– No
No stress
stress raiser
raiser fracture is more likely than brittle fracture.
–– Fast
Fast load
load rate –– Slower
Slower load
load rate
rate rate With high load rates typical of impact or
shock loading, brittle fracture is more likely.
There are other factors that affect fracture
type but these are the most common and they
are generalizations, meaning exceptions can
occur.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 15 -- Proper cleaning of fracture faces

should be done before analysis so we can
clearly see fracture characteristics. We should
Fracture Examination
avoid abrasive or corrosive cleaning methods
•• Fracture
Fracture Cleaning
Cleaning that can destroy the facts we seek. Solvents
–– Nonabrasive/Corrosive
Nonabrasive/Corrosive cleaning
cleaning such as Stanisol and Freon will clean dirty oil
–– Air
Air or
or blow
blow dry
dry
•• Fracture
and debris from fracture surfaces without
Fracture Analysis
Analysis
–– Use
Use good
good lighting
lighting damaging them.
–– Rotate
Rotate specimen
specimen in in light
light
–– Use
Use magnification
magnification After air or blow-drying, fracture analysis
•• Preservation
Preservation
–– Coat
should be done in good lighting with a
Coat specimen
specimen with
with rust
rust inhibitor
inhibitor
–– Package
Package toto prevent
prevent shipping
shipping contact
contact
magnifying glass. When looking at a three-
dimensional surface, it helps to rotate the
fracture in the light.

After analysis is complete, we should protect

fracture surfaces with oil, grease or other

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

corrosion inhibitors to prevent surface

deterioration. If the broken part needs to be
shipped to a different location for further
analysis, we should package each part in such
a way as to prevent damage during shipment.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 16 -- Brittle cracks are usually

associated with results and not root causes,
progress very rapidly {break apart in a
fraction of a second), are crystalline (break
along grain boundaries or through grains
without changing the shape of the grains), are
rough to the touch, and have little plastic
deformation (if the broken halves were fit
together, the part would have it’s original
appearance).

Wrought materials that undergo brittle

fracture usually leave a bright surface
coloration and sparkle like diamonds when
rotated in the light. Softer metals tend to form
chevrons (V- shaped surface features) that
point like arrows to the crack initiation site.
Harder materials seldom form chevrons.

Most cast materials undergo brittle fracture

leaving dull or dark fractures. Chevrons are
seldom seen on these fracture faces making
initiation sites extremely difficult to find.

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 17 -- This cast iron part has been hit and
broken (impact load and brittle fracture). The
rough, crystalline fracture surface has no
chevrons to indicate where the crack started.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 18 -- This wrought steel part has also
been hit and broken (impact load and brittle
fracture). Notice the distinct chevrons, which
point to the start of the crack. The fracture
face has rough texture, and is bright and
sparkling.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 19 -- Brittle cracks grow through face-
to-face separation (cleavage) of unit cells
within grains or along grain boundaries.
When the crack has moved through one grain,
it crosses the grain boundary and begins
cleavage of the next grain. This continues
very rapidly through the metal until it is
"broken”. Because of the clean separation of
unit cell faces, there is no plastic deformation
(the two broken halves will fit together and
the part looks original except for the crack)
and the fracture surface has many flat grain
(crystal) surfaces that reflect light to our eye,
making the fracture surface appear sparkly.

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 20 -- We can illustrate brittle fracture

with a deck of cards. We know from
experience that there are many separate cards,
or layers, in a deck. Metals are similar to this
deck of cards since they are made of grains or
crystals each of which contains thousands of
layers of neatly "stacked" unit cells just like
the individual cards in a deck.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 21 -- When we separate the deck as

shown here, we have face-to-face separation
of the cards. When we strike a metal part
violently we can separate the layers of unit
cells within a grain in a similar manner. If we
put the two halves of a brittle fracture back
together, it looks like the original part, except
that it is cracked.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 22 -- This is a magnified I view of a

fractured piston. Though we rarely see
chevrons in brittle fractures of cast metals, we
do see chevrons here, which radiate upward
from the pin bore. The chevrons tell us that an
impact load has broken the piston, and that
the crack started at the pin bore.

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 23 -- This is a tooth from a D8 final

drive gear. The tractor was in transit on a
lowboy, an accident occurred, and the tractor
fell to the bottom of a rocky ravine. Impact
loading created a brittle fracture at the tooth
root with chevrons radiating to the opposite
root. The thin hardened case did not form
chevrons at the crack initiation site.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 24 -- This gear broke in an engine about
six months after delivery. The dealer felt that
the factory either over tightened the center
retaining bolt, which caused the gear to split,
or that, the gear was weak and broke with
normal loading. (Instructor should now ask
the audience to identify the type of fracture
and the initiation site. The group will have
trouble because it is hard to see fracture
details without magnification and improved
lighting.)

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 25 -- With better lighting of the fracture
face and magnification, more facts are visible.
What type of fracture is this? (Brittle) Where
did the crack begin? (At the teeth not at the
center.) How do we know the crack began at
the teeth? (The chevrons point to the teeth.)

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 26 -- Ductile fractures are usually

associated with results rather than root causes
and are caused by overloading of the met- al
structure. They are fast cracks, but are slower
than brittle cracks. The fracture surface is
rough and woody (like a broken tree branch)
with plastic deformation (the part has changed
shape and size) and shear lips (outer edges of
fracture that protrude). Because the surface is
very irregular and rough, light that hits it is
diffused (scattered in all directions) and little
is reflected to our eye, making the fracture
appear dark.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 27 -- This connecting rod section has
been overloaded to failure. As we examine
the fracture, we notice the dark rough surface
of a ductile fracture in the center, complete
with shear lips around the edges. We also see
some areas of secondary impact damage that
has destroyed the original fracture surface at
several locations. This smearing of metal after
fracture is called shearing and leaves a silky
featureless surface that must not be mistaken
for a fracture face.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 28 -- Ductile cracks form by slippage

within the grains. Layers of unit cells slide
past each other allowing the grains to become
elongated and distorted. Because of this
slippage, the original shape is changed and we
say the part is plastically deformed
(permanently a different size and shape).

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 29 -- A deck of cards can be used to

illustrate the slip- page that occurs in ductile
fractures. Just as cards can slide in various
directions, the layers of unit cells within
metals can slip in various directions, changing
the metal's size and shape.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 30 -- During overloading slippage of

grains continues until small cracks form in the
part's center. These cracks grow larger until
they join each other. This produces the rough
and "woody" ductile fracture characteristics.
The un-failed metal near the outer edge
breaks last on about a 45 degree angle
producing a large shear lip.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 31 -- This bolt was pulled apart in a
tensile testing ma- chine with a 6° wedge
under the head. Notice that the weakest link in
the chain was the stress raiser caused by a bolt
thread root. The shear lip is large and off
center as a result of the off center loading
produced by the 6° wedge.

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 32 -- Closer inspection with

magnification reveals that the surface texture
is rough and woody and a small shear lip
extends around the backside of the fracture.
The surface does not appear dark in this slide
because the lighting required for photography
is extremely bright.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 33 -- This rod bolt failed in the shank
and has a very dark color. The fracture shows
plastic flow (cross-sectional area reduced or
"necked down”), the fracture face is rough
and woody, and there is a large shear lip. The
dark, rough and woody appearance of the
fracture, plus the plastic deformation and
shear lip indicate two things:

1) This is a fast growing ductile fracture and,

2) This is a result of an overload --we need to

determine the source of the over load.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 34 -- Fatigue fractures result when

cyclic loading acts through stress raisers. The
metal is not able to withstand the localized
forces that act on the grains at the stress
concentrator, and a crack forms. As the crack
slowly progresses, semicircular beach marks
can form. The fracture face is usually flat and
smooth and light in color. (Crack arrest lines
very similar to beach marks sometimes occur
on ductile fractures when ductile cracking
takes a few load applications to complete the
fracture. However, the surface will not be flat
and smooth, but rough and woody.) It is very
important to learn to identify fatigue fractures
since they are usually associated with root
causes while brittle and ductile fractures are
usually results.

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 35 -- The crack initiation site may
exhibit ratchet marks indicating very high
loads or a severe stress concentrator. Ratchet
marks indicate multiple initiation sites and
cracks growing inwards until they join up to
form a single crack front. The crack grows
with each cyclic load until a loading change
occurs, forming "beach marks" or "crack
arrest lines” visible to the unaided eye. If
there is no load change, no beach marks form.
Beach marks point us to the crack initiation
site since they radiate out away from the
origin like ripples on a pond surface when a
rock is dropped in the water. Eventually the
part is weakened too much to carry the load
and final fracture occurs. The final fracture
can be either brittle or ductile. Notice that a
small shear lip can be present if the final
fracture is ductile.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 36 -- This fatigue fracture clearly shows
beach marks leading away from the initiation
site with a brittle final fracture indicated by
the chevrons radiating away from the last
beach mark.

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 37 -- Taking a closer look at the origin,
we find ratchet marks at the initiation site,
indicating high stress or presence of a severe
stress concentrator.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 38 -- More magnification of the

initiation site helps us look for pre-cracks or
other stress raisers that could be the root
cause of fracture. There are no visible stress
raisers here, but we do see a classic display of
beach marks on different planes separated by
ratchet marks. This confirms multiple cracks
grew into the part.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 39 -- It is a good idea to look at both

sides of a fracture since something might be
hidden on one face and visible on the other.
This is a magnified view of the mating
fracture, but we still fail to find any stress
raiser. This tells us to obtain facts about part
loading to determine if misalignment or some
other condition put abnormally high loads on
the shaft.

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 40 -- What type of fracture occurred in

this connecting rod? (Fatigue) Where did the
crack start? (At the lower center area) Where
is the final fracture? (Both sides) Why did the
crack start? (Can't see on this slide -- need
magnified view of initiation site.)

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 41 -- This magnified view shows that
the crack started at the base of a forged in rod
identification letter. If loading was normal,
the root cause may be a processing problem.
In this case the forger placed two
identification letters too close together and
folded material down between them creating
the stress raiser.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 42 -- This shaft has been broken by a
fatigue fracture starting at the lower center
area. Beach marks show that the crack
progresses up both sides and that final
fracture occurred at the top.

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 43 -- Magnification of the initiation site

reveals the stress raiser was a groove in the
outer surface. Comparison of the broken part
to a new part, or to a good used part, will tell
us whether the groove was designed in or
produced by wear. If the groove was
produced during operation, we need to find
out what caused the wear. If the groove was
designed in, we should investigate alignment
and loading facts before we blame the part.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 44 -- What type of fracture occurred in

this bolt? (Glass bead cleaning destroyed
many facts, but because of the flat, smooth
surface we would suspect that a fatigue
fracture has occurred.) We need to be careful
not to abrasively or corrosively clean
fractures because many facts we need about
initiation sites and stress raisers will be
destroyed.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 45 -- Fatigue fractures in rotating shafts

are called "rotating bending fatigue”. Under
low stress the fatigue crack will progress
slowly across the shaft with final fracture
directly opposite the initiation site.

Under high stress the fatigue crack progresses

more rapidly at the surface than through the
cross section resulting in beach marks
concave towards the final fracture that occurs
inside the shaft. Ratchet marks and close
spaced beach marks identify the initiation site.
Final fracture is surrounded by beach marks,
has no ratchet marks and the beach marks are
more widely spaced. It is very common for
final fracture to be blamed for the failure as it
looks like a large internal material flaw.

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 46 -- This shaft came from a vane type
hydraulic pump. After 350 hours of operation,
the shaft broke at the backside of the double
row ball bearing. It was the third shaft to
break the same way in nearly the same hours.
The root cause had not been found and new
shafts were continuing to break. Why? Where
do we start gathering facts?

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 47 -- Visual examination of both

fracture surfaces is a good way to begin. We
see that the shaft has failed in fatigue (beach
marks are present, and the fracture surface is
flat and smooth). We can also see that the
final fracture is moving in ~, toward the
center.

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 48 -- Magnification shows that the

fatigue crack started at the bottom and final
fracture was just inside the shaft at the top.
The beach marks tell us to study the initiation
site more closely.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 49 -- One way to identify the stress
raiser is to put the two broken parts gently
back together and look for grooves, notches
or other physical irregularities (we should
avoid putting fracture faces together except
for this type of inspection for stress raisers).

Here we see that the stress raiser is a square

groove. The fatigue fracture started from one
of the corners where a stress concentration of
about 3.0 was present. The root cause was
identified to be an unnecessary groove. A new
design was released without the groove and
the failures were eliminated.

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 50 -- In this module you have learned
how to identify the three types of fracture,
Remember… you know what loads cause each and which
ones are causes and results. Most importantly
•• Brittle
Brittle and
and ductile
ductile fractures
fractures are
are usually
usually results
results
•• Fatigue
Fatigue fractures
fractures are
are usually
usually connected
connected to to the
the
you have learned how to locate the initiation
root
root cause
cause sites of fatigue fractures and examine them
•• Examine
Examine fatigue
fatigue initiation
initiation sites
sites for
for abnormal
abnormal
stress
stress raisers
raisers
for abnormal stress raisers. If abnormal stress
–– If
If cracking
cracking starts
starts internally,
internally, indicates
indicates aa raisers are present this usually indicates a
material
material oror fabrication
fabrication problem
problem (bulls
(bulls eye
eye or
or
pre-crack)
pre-crack)
material, manufacturing, or abuse problem. If
–– If
If cracking
cracking starts
starts at
at the
the surface
surface look
look for
for no abnormal stress raisers are present, this
presence
presence of of abnormal
abnormal stress
stress raisers
raisers
–– If
If stress
stress raiser
raiser is
is normal,
normal, investigate
investigate for
for cyclic
cyclic
usually means a cyclic overload was present
overloading
overloading and we need to further investigate application
and operation practices.

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 51 -- To identify the most probable

cause of failure, we need to:

1) Think carefully with facts we have

gathered

2) Ask the "double check" question: "Is there

any way the other party could have caused
this failure? "

The "double check" question helps us

remember to obtain pertinent environmental
facts concerning heat, load, application,
operation and maintenance.

For example:

1) How hot were the coolants, lubricants,

fuels or inlet air?

2) What was the customer doing with the

machine at the time of failure or in the
previous week or month?

3) Is the product application too severe?

4) What kind of maintenance program is

being performed?

After reviewing all pertinent facts, we will be

prepared to give our opinion of the root cause
of failure.
Applied Failure Analysis Fractures Slide 51 -- Without the facts, we can become
confused and make wrong decisions. FACTS
MAKE THE DIFFERENCE!

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AFA – 5 Fractures 4/22/2001

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