Forensic engineering: applying materials and mechanics principles to the investigation of product failures
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REVIEW
Forensic engineering: applying materials and mechanics principles to the investigation of product failures S. V. Hainsworth Æ M. E. Fitzpatrick
Accepted: 6 April 2007 / Published online: 13 June 2007 Humana Press Inc. 2007
Abstract Forensic engineering is the application of engineering principles or techniques to the investigation of materials, products, structures or components that fail or do not perform as intended. In particular, forensic engineering can involve providing solutions to forensic problems by the application of engineering science. A criminal aspect may be involved in the investigation but often the problems are related to negligence, breach of contract, or providing information needed in the redesign of a product to eliminate future failures. Forensic engineering may include the investigation of the physical causes of accidents or other sources of claims and litigation (for example, patent disputes). It involves the preparation of technical engineering reports, and may require giving testimony and providing advice to assist in the resolution of disputes affecting life or property. This paper reviews the principal methods available for the analysis of failed components and then gives examples of different component failure modes through selected case studies. Keywords Forensic engineering Engineering design Microscopy Failure analysis
Introduction The term ‘forensic engineering’ tends to be applied to the study of the failure of products and components where the failure has had an adverse effect: this could range from loss of life, to minor injury, to downtime of a piece of industrial plant. When the failure of a component of a product—be it a wine bottle, a car or an industrial process line—leads to personal injury or large financial loss, it is generally the job of the forensic engineer to discover why the failure occurred, so that liability or fault can be clearly identified. So typical questions arising from a failure are: • •
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S. V. Hainsworth (&) Department of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK e-mail: [email protected] M. E. Fitzpatrick Department of Materials Engineering, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
Was the product being operated correctly? Was the operator properly trained? Was the product correctly maintained? Had the failed part been used ‘abusively’, or beyond its specified design life? Was any specified inspection re´gime followed? Had the failed part been inspected and replaced according to specification? Did the failed part contain a flaw as a result of its original manufacture? Or had a flaw been introduced during operation as a result of accident or misuse? Did the failed part meet its design specification? Was the original design of the product flawed? Was the specified operation of the product destined to lead to the failure because the properties of the materials used were insufficient for the defined operational parameters?
This paper aims to give a review of the key methodologies and methods use
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