WELCOME TO ALL

INDUSTRY ACADEMIA

FAILURE ANALYSIS AND CASE

STUDIES
by
Chandran Ramalingam,
Manager,
Asset Integrity
HMEL

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General Causes of failures

1. Static or Dynamic Loads slowly applied ( Discontinuities, improper
design , Poor dimensional control )
2. Severe Dynamic loads ( Fatigue failure )
3. Service at High temperature( creep )/Low Temperature (brittle)
4. Pressure ( Stresses above Elastic limit)
5. Corrosive Environment ( Thickness reduction )
6. Vibration during service ( cyclic loading leads fatigue failure)
7. Excess loading ( less factor of safety)
8. Use of Equipment in improper environment ( High temp reduces
strength)
9. Improper Maintenance ( Lubrication, Cleaning, Finishing etc)
10. Deterioration with age (become brittle& fail)
11. Wear ( loss of material)
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Causes of machinery failures

Failure : Change in machinery part or component
which causes it to be unable to perform its intended
function satisfactorily.
Faulty design
Material defects
Processing & manufacturing deficiencies
Assembly or installation defects
Off-design or unintended service conditions
Maintenance deficiencies ( Neglect procedures)
Improper operation
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Machinery failure modesProcess plant

A) Deformation
Yielding,Buckling,Creep-bowing,Melting,Expansion/shrinkage
B)Failure seperation
Ductile/brittle fracture,fatigue fracture,cracking,bond failure
C) Surface/Material changes
Corrosion, Aging,rusting,Adhesive wear
(fretting,scuffing,scoring,galling,rubbing/seizing), abrasive wear,
pitting,spalling

D) Displacement
Jamming/blocking/sicking, Shifting,loosening,leakage-contamination

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Fatigue
Cyclic stress for an extended period < YS cause sudden unexpected failure
Types of Fatigue
1.Mechanical fatigue ( Mechanical loading or thermal cycle)
2.Vibration fatigue (dynamic loading due to vibration, water hammer, or unstable
fluid flow)
3.Thermal fatigue (Thermal stress, Differential expansion & contraction)
Critical factors
1)Design
a) Mechanical notches (sharp corners or groves);
b)Key holes on drive shafts of rotating equipment;
c)Weld joint, flaws and/or mismatches;
d)Quench nozzle areas, Tool markings, Grinding marks;
e)Lips on drilled holes, Thread root notches, Corrosion.
2) Metallurgy, Cleanliness of steel, Heat treatment, Hardness, Microstructure
3) Stress level, Number of cycles

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Fatigue failure appearance

Fatigue fracture
surface showing
beach marks

Compressor rod
surface showing
beach marks

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Crack initiation site

Fracture zone
Propagation zone, striation
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Fatigue failure appearance

Weld fatigue

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CS pipe with cracks

Fatigue failure

Components : shafts,bearing,gears,
,pulleys,piping,bolts,blades etc

Inspection & Monitoring

1.PT, MT and SWUT can be used to detect fatigue cracks at known
areas of stress concentration.
2.VT of small diameter piping to detect oscillation or other cyclical
movement that could lead to cracking.
3.Vibration monitoring of rotating equipment to help detect shafts that
may be out of balance.
4.In high cycle fatigue, crack initiation can be a majority of the fatigue life
making detection difficult.

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Short term overheating Stress rupture

Bulging & rupture of

boiler tubes

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Rupture of fired
heater tubes

Rupture

Use of incorrect
material --corroded &
ruptured

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High flow> design-erroded valve

body/pipe & ruptured.

Creep rupture
( Temp > threshold + stress + time)

Creep rupture of
heater tubes

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Creep rupture

Threshold Temperatures for Creep

Material Temperature Limit

Carbon Steel (UTS 414MPa (60 ksi)) 343C (650F)
C-1/2Mo 399C (750F)
1-1/4Cr-1/2Mo Normalized & Tempered 427C (800F)
5Cr-1/2Mo 427C (800F)
9Cr-1Mo 427C (800F)
AISI Type 304 & 304H 510C (950F)
AISI Type 316 & 316H 538C (1000F)
AISI Type 321 538C (1000F)
AISI Type 347 538C (1000F)
Alloy 800 565C (1050F)
HK-40 649C (1200F)

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Solutions to avoid rupture

A) Do not exceed operating parameters such as
Pressure or vacuum,
temperature,
load,
speed,
flow,
Velocity
Operating time etc
B) Monitor critical parameters continuously & control
C) Carry out on-stream inspection & testing at regular interval
D) Do not deviate from design ( construction, material & parameters)

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Wear
Wear : To break down or diminish through use
Types of wear
1.Metal To Metal (Adhesion or Friction)
2.Metal To Particles (Abrasion)
3.Metal To Particles in Fluid (Erosion)
4.Impact Wear
5.Wear caused by heat ( soften at high temp & susceptible to
abrasion & impact)
6.Corrosive Wear
7.Fatigue Wear ( cyclic loading)
8.Fretting Wear

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Wear by Adhesion or friction

( failure modes : scoring,galling,seizing &
scuffing). Lubrication & coating

Sliding metal
components have tiny
raised or roughed areas,
called asperities, which
collide
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Contact under heat and

pressure causes the
metal to flow and bond
momentarily in cold
welding

When machine force

fractures cold welded,
asperities from one
surface remain bonded
to the opposite surface,
accelerating wear.

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Abrasive Wear

Involves forced indentation of hard particles

across the surface which exhibits scratches or
grooves.
Abrasive wear accounts for 60% of all wear.
Classified further as
Low Stress Scratching Abrasion ( small
particle slide over the surface & scour the
surface)
High Stress abrasion wear (Large abrasive
particles slide & cause gouges & grooves)

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Erosive Wear

Erosion is wear caused by abrasive particles

usually contained in a fluid - by agents of
currents such as wind, water, or ice by usually
by downward movement in response to gravity.
Eroded surfaces show typical channels and
waves Like those in sand moved by wind or
water.
Alloys required - with high matrix hardness and
a high particle dispersion

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CI pump casings and impellers

The slurry handling pump

casings and impellers
degrade fast.
The cast iron body is
affected by cavitation, low
angle erosion and
corrosion.
The impellers often get
grooved and the surface
becomes irregular

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Wear by Fretting

Repeated cyclical rubbing between two

surfaces, is known as fretting - over a period of
time removes material from one or both surfaces
in contact.
Fretting typically occurs in bearings, although
most bearings have their surfaces hardened to
resist the problem. When cracks in either
surface are created, known as fretting fatigue.
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Wear mechanism & selection of alloys

Hardfacing & Build-up Materials
The alloy we need to choose for overlaying is the one that has the
optimum resistance to the wear mechanisms present.These are broadly
divided into 5 categories:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Hard and tough ferritic, ferritic-martensitic and martensitic steels

Soft Austenitic steels which have work hardening properties
Very hard Chromium and alloy-carbide irons
Cobalt base alloys and Ni-base alloys for combination of heat and
wear resistance properties
5. Cu-base alloys are used for corrosion and wear resistance
properties

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Weld Surfacing Alloy Groups & General

Characteristics
High
Low

Tungsten
Carbide
Group-1

Abrasion

Resistance

Low

Martensitic
Alloy Steel
Group-2

Pearlitic
Alloy Steel
Group-3

Austenitic
Manganese
Group-4

Martensitic

Stainless

Steels

Heat
Resistance

Low

Corrosion
Chromium
Carbide
Irons
Group-6

High

High Alloy
Tool Steel

Cr-Ni

Stainless
steel

Group-7
Cobalt and

Nickel
Base

Alloys

High

Group-9

Impact
Low

Resistance

Resistance
High

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Thanking you

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