Forensic Failure Analysis

© 2005 ASM International. All Rights Reserved. www.asminternational.org Failure Analysis of Engineering Structures: Methodology and Case Histories (#05127G) CHAPTER 7 Forensic Failure Analysis FORENSIC SCIENCE refers to that part of science that is used is a written warranty or contract about its performance. The second in courts of law for administration of justice. Service failures of aspect of the contract that is implied is that the product should be machines and accidents to engineering structures result in serious, reasonably safe. Failure to perform its intended function satisfac- expensive, and prolonged litigations, affecting the credibility of torily and safely constitutes a breach of warranty and, hence, lia- the manufacturer and the reliability of its products. When defective bility. In courts of law, product liability is extended not only to the consumer products fail to perform their intended functions and manufacturer of the whole product but also to the designer, the thereby cause injuries to personnel or damage to property, the user maker of component parts, the assembler, the person who installs resorts to product liability litigations. Litigations also follow when it, the repairer, and also the distributor and the retail seller. The damages to structures, life, and property are caused by deliberate absence of privity of contract, i.e., direct connection between the acts of sabotage by antisocial elements. plaintiff and the defendant, does not preclude liability in tort. Thus, Investigations of such mishaps are of two kinds, preventive and in a product liability litigation, liability is imposed also on people punitive, i.e., inquisitorial and accusatorial. In the former, attempts behind the scenes. are made to find out the cause of the malfunction or failure of a In order to provide for an orderly and logical flow of evidence, component with a view to making technical and procedural im- some product liability advocates prefer what is called a seriated provements to prevent its recurrence. Various techniques available trial. According to this proposal, the trial is conducted in three for such inquisitorial investigations are described in earlier chap- stages: ters. In the accusatorial type, the investigation is legal in character and requires generation of data of sufficiently high standard to 1. The first segment of the trial involves evidence pertinent only provide proof for the judiciary to justify penal and censure action to the product and ultimately whether it was defective and un- for the violation of established laws and codes. Such high stan- reasonably dangerous, considered apart from the actual injury- dards are necessary even in departmental inquiries, without the producing event. involvement of the judiciary, for fixing responsibilities. Most of 2. If a positive decision is reached, the trial continues. Evidence the failures of machinery and accidents to engineering structures relative to the injury-producing event is presented on the basis involve a combination of component malfunction and misman- of which the jury/court must determine whether the defective agement. In many such situations, both types of inquiry are nec- product caused the accident. essary. 3. If a positive decision is reached, the trial then turns to the final Industrial machinery and structures are made of materials, question of the extent of liability of the manufacturer. This mostly metallic. As seen in earlier chapters, when these structures methodology ensures that the jury/court will be properly in- fail, they leave certain distinct tell-tale marks. These marks, when formed of the design and use of the product and, consequently, properly documented, can provide the exacting evidence the ju- will be able to make knowledgeable decisions. diciary is looking for in litigations following such failures. The courts are now depending more and more on the metallurgical Product liability litigations, each requiring technical skills of profession for making correct decisions in such litigations. A few varying degrees of complexity, have become more common in case histories, including product liability litigations, are presented many cases, and product liability insurance premiums have be- in this chapter to illustrate the importance of metallurgical juris- come a major cost in some industries. One or two product liability prudence or how the judiciary can take advantage of the metallur- litigations can potentially wipe out a small company by way of gical profession and expertise in administering justice. legal expenses and compensation paid to the victims. It is not uncommon that product liability cases are settled between the par- ties out of court. A few product liability cases are described next. 7.1 Product Liability Litigations Collapse of Domestic Ladders. Several litigations following the collapse of aluminum ladders have been reported. In one case, Product liability litigations pose many challenges to manufac- when a woman, standing on a ladder, was trying to remove dry turers. If a consumer product is defective and during its usage leaves from the roof of her house with a rake, the ladder collapsed. causes injuries to the user, the manufacturer of that product be- She sustained hip injuries and sued the company that manufactured comes liable and is sued in courts. When a product is sold, there the ladder. In another case, when a man was trying to paint his © 2005 ASM International. All Rights Reserved. www.asminternational.org Failure Analysis of Engineering Structures: Methodology and Case Histories (#05127G) 54 / Failure Analysis of Engineering Structures: Methodology house, his ladder collapsed, causing him injuries. He sued the lad- was not switched on and hence the motorcyclist was at fault. The der manufacturer and also the retail store that sold him the ladder. report of the consulting firm in this case contained only photo- Collapse of ladders has been attributed to improper riveting of graphs of the motorcycle and the scene of the accident and no the cross supports to the side rails of the ladder; excessive projec- technical evidence to support its opinion. It was further observed tion of the legs below the first rung of the ladder; and improper (Ref 2) that many consulting firms depended on established rela- heat treatment of the ladder material resulting in the precipitation tionships with insurance companies for their financial survival and, of brittle intermetallics along the grain boundaries, reducing the hence, rendering unbiased opinions in such circumstances would toughness of the alloy. In several cases, even though the correct be difficult. grade of alloy had been used for making the ladder, stress analysis, The lamp had two sets of metal posts with attached tungsten taking into account the lateral forces generated during operations filaments. Macroscopic examination of the damaged headlamp such as painting, proved that the ladder had mechanical instability. gave very clear evidence (Fig. 7.1) that particles of melted and Manufacturer’s Liability. If a product is proved to be defective, solidified glass were sticking to one of the filaments. This filament replacement of the defective part is the liability of the manufac- must have been on at the time of the accident. The other filament turer. Anticipating malfunctions, failures, accidents, and litigations was off as shown by the shiny appearance of its two ends, but its to follow, some of the manufacturers have wisely taken corrective central portion was oxidized. The impact of the accident had actions to avoid mishaps and litigations. The following are some caused this filament to contact the other filament that was on. This of the examples. had resulted in heating of the central portion and oxidation when A company had developed a compost thresher machine and in- the lamp shattered and exposed the hot filament to atmosphere. troduced it in the market. Soon, the company realized that the Having established the exacting evidence that the lamp was on, speed of the intake mechanism was very great and might exceed the case was settled in favor of the plaintiff, the motorcyclist. the human reaction time. The operator’s hands could be sucked A Machine Shop Accident. When seeking exacting evidence into the machine. Realizing this design flaw, the company stopped in litigations following accidents, one should go to the correct production to avoid liability litigations (Ref 1). expert. In a machine shop, during a grinding operation, a fragment In the 1100 kVA marine engine, described in Chapter 2, “Com- of metal entered the operator’s eye and he lost his eye. The metal mon Causes of Failures,” the piston head failure was due to mis- fragment was recovered and given to a scientist who dissolved it alignment. Following the failure investigation, a campaign was ordered by the manufacturer to check the alignment and balancing of the pistons in all the engines sold by them. A batch of aluminum alloy extrusions was procured for use in the fabrication of aircraft wings. During inspection for acceptance, blisters were noticed on their surface. When the extrusions were solution treated, the blisters were found to increase in size and number. Sectional metallography revealed the presence of cavities below the blisters, and these could open up easily during service. These blisters are formed due to hydrogen pickup during melting and remain in the metal due to inadequate degassing. Use of blis- tered extrusions would endanger the aircraft because these blis- tered areas are vulnerable for crack initiation. The manufacturer, realizing the liability, replaced the entire batch of extrusions with acceptable grades. In the automobile industry, cases have been reported regarding withdrawal of entire lots of cars from the market for repair and replacement, after realizing that the cars had serious defects that made them unsafe. 7.2 Litigations Following Accidents A Traffic Accident. It is amazing that complex legal issues have been solved by the thorough visual examination of the failed component and its surroundings by an experienced metallurgist. One such case has been reported (Ref 2).

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