Composites & Polymers Failure Analysis
Our failure analysis services include the evaluation of metals, polymers and composites, welds, coatings, finished products and more. VARCHU MARC LLP failure analysis experts have performed thousands of failure investigations, and have experience with a wide range of failure modes, materials and industries.
VARCHU MARC LLP Metallurgical Engineering staff will provide insight into the contributing factors of the failure to prevent future recurrence. In addition to our state-of-the-art microscopy and prep labs, VARCHU MARC LLP utilizes a multi-disciplinary approach with a full chemistry lab, polymer testing, and well equipped mechanical and fatigue labs. This eliminates the need for costly and time-consuming outsourcing, getting you results on a much faster timeline.
LITIGATION FAILURE ANALYSIS
Litigation and insurance claims need support from competent materials testing experts to reach the appropriate conclusions. Our labs in Ithaca, NY and Louisville, KY provide litigation support to clients in a wide range of industries. Clients rely onVARCHU MARC LLP to provide the following professional services:
- Trial Expert Witness Testimony
- Technical Disposition
- Legal Consultation
- Test Witness Services
VARCHU MARC LLP MULTI-DISCIPLINARY APPROACH
VARCHU MARC LLP has a reputation for comprehensive and unbiased perspective on complex material failures. Our staff includes licensed Professional Engineers (P.E.’s), and other experienced analysts with the necessary education and industry experience to provide confident technical support. We also have experts in a wide range of disciplines including corrosion, fractography and non-metallics.
If you are a consumer and would like to hire an expert witness or need technical disposition, we recommend having your lawyer contact us. This way we can be sure to perform the specific testing required to meet the needs of your case.
FAILURE ANALYSIS TESTING PROCESSES
- Reviewing the steps that occurred before the failure
- Simulating the conditions under which the failure occurred Collecting samples for chemical analysis
- Investigating why some components, if any, remain intact
- Determining the root causes behind the failure
- Recommending steps to avoid future recurrence
In some circumstances, it aids the failure analysis process to inspect the site where the failures took place. Analyzing failures often involves multi-disciplinary processes. These can include the following:
- Chemical analysis through the use of various spectroscopy techniques
- Environmental exposure testing that approximates the operating conditions at the time of the failure’s occurrence
- Fractography, or the study of fractured material surfaces
- Microscopic examination using scanning electron microscopes and similar equipment
- Mechanical testing utilizing a wide range of analytical equipment, and taking into account component geometry and failure parameters
FAILURE ANALYSIS TESTING SERVICES
VARCHU MARC LLP Test Labs offers a comprehensive array of failure analysis services for non-metallic materials, including the following:
- Fractography services, which are particularly useful for determining causes of fractures in plastic components and other non-metallic material surfaces
- Investigative chemistry, including adhesive identification, coating contamination, contaminant identification, paint identification, and surface contamination. These are useful for analyzing paint adhesion failures and determining the presence of contaminants in paints and plastics.
- Physical testing for benchmarking plastic part materials and determining distribution of fibers in fiber-reinforced plastics, among others.
- Residual analysis, such as FTIR, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (there is a close relationship between investigative chemistry and residual analysis) for contaminant identification.
- Thermal analysis for measuring properties such as melting point, crystallization temperature, filler content and mechanical properties as a function of temperature
- Litigation failure analysis, involving trial expert witness testimony, technical disposition, legal consultation, and test witness services
POLYMER/COMPOSITE FAILURE ANALYSIS SERVICES
Failure analysis of non-metallic materials is necessary to prevent the future recurrence of failures in non-metallic materials. There are different kinds of non-metallic failure analysis techniques. The use of these techniques ultimately depends on the type of non-metallic material to be analyzed and tested.
