Failure Analysis

Nothing lasts forever. But when the lifetime of a material is suddenly shortened by unusual wear, breaking or corrosion it indicates that something has changed. These changes can have many causes including contamination, external attack or mechanical (design, manufacturing or usage) problems. When the problems are related to the materials, we can provide the expertise to sort out the root causes.

If a plastic fitting has cracked, we might need to confirm whether it has been made of the correct plastic (bulk polymer and additives), contaminated with foreign material or subjected to chemicals that have attacked it. If paint layers or glued objects are not adhering, is there a problem with the bulk material, the adhesive or are the surfaces contaminated? Corrosion can be caused by many types of attacks.

In all of these cases, chemical analysis of the materials holds the answers to resolving the cause of the problem and figuring out how to prevent recurrences. We have the equipment and experience to determine what is going on.

Sometimes small particles are observed in beverages or drug solutions where they don’t belong. To correct the problem, the manufacturer needs to know what the particles are. Figure 3 shows a blister in the coating on the inside of a beverage can.

Fig. 3 – SEM-EDX ParticlesView (PDF – 81KB)

The issue causing the blister was found to be microscopic particles of copper and chlorine trapped between the ID of the can and the can’s liner, which caused corrosion of the aluminum surface. Figure 4 shows how our elemental mapping capabilities clearly indicated contamination at the manufacturer’s site.

Fig. 4 – SEM-EDXView (PDF – 104KB