Failure Analysis

Preventing Spring Failure from Occurring Again

Spring failure is potentially devastating and have serious consequences for any business or operation. Well-designed springs are designed to resist failure but sometimes this is not enough. If such an event happens, it is important to know why and how it occurred to prevent future failure. Spring Engineers has a team of skilled failure analysts and analytical tools to help you find the root of the problem and determine a cost-effective solution to prevent failure from happening again.

While each cause of failure is unique, Spring Engineers’ analysis and testing services cover a broad scope of possible failure causes to identify the specific cause and point of failure. These tools include:

• Microscope examination for tool marks, abrasion and other causes of failure
• SEM (scanning electron microscope) examination for extremely detailed fracture analysis
• Spectrographic analysis for material chemistry and identification of corrosive agents
• NDE (nondestructive evaluation) such as liquid penetrant or Magnaflux inspection for cracks and other defects
• X-ray diffraction for measuring residual stress
• Brinell, Rockwell and Knoop testing to evaluate hardness, surface hardness and efficacy of heat treating
• Salt spray testing
• Fatigue (cycle) testing

SEM photograph of fracture origin, depicting hydrogen embrittlement

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