Dr Alastair Houston - Piecing together the evidence: The materials failure investigation process
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Dr Alastair Houston Consultant Materials Scientist at Minton, Treharne, and Davies (MTD) Piecing together the evidence: The materials failure investigation process Tuesday 21st February 2023 at 18:00 Trevithick Room T2.09, Queen’s Buildings, Cardiff University, 5 The Parade, Cardiff, CF24 3AA The lecture will also be streamed live as a Zoom online seminar. If you would like to join the online seminar, you will need to register with this link: cardiff.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yUkIZijORU2krIqoMIWH_Q Materials will degrade from the moment they are put into service, for example through wear of moving components, corrosion in a harsh environment, or fatigue cracking through repeated motions. Recognising this, materials intended for critical applications are carefully selected to withstand their particular service environment. However, sometimes their expected lifetime can be cut short by an unexpected and catastrophic failure, often with a large price tag for damages and litigation. Once the dust settles following such an incident, it becomes necessary to understand the cause of the failure, such that the risk of future failures can be diminished. Through forensic study of failed materials, an investigator must piece together the evidence to find the nature of the failure. This presentation will outline the process of materials failure investigation illustrated with recent case studies.
