ME 421 Failure Analysis, Fall 2011
NOT UPDATED for 2013!
No textbook will be required - other than the one purchased from the copy center.
Textbook: Purchase for about $10 from the Copy Center in the basement of BC
Fractorgraphy notes
| Assignment | Given | Due | Description | |
| 1 | 8/29 | 9/5 | Testing of aircraft, "They All Laughed (ch6) " | |
| 2 | 9/7 | 9/14 | Broken bar, flight 111 | |
| 3 | 9/14 | 9/21 | Vasa, Failed weld (Vasa Case Study - PDF) | |
| 4 | 9/22 | 9/28 | Failed weld II, various case studies Mars Climate Orbiter Chapter 13 |
|
| 5 | 10/5 | 10/12 | Complete Phase I for project | |
| 6 | 10/12 | 10/26 | Complete Phase II for project, Fracture Mech Part 1 | FM Examples, Solutions to FM part 1 |
| 7 | 10/26 | 11/2 | Fract Mech 2, Fractography 1 | ASM Handbooks, on-line |
| 8 | 11/2 | 11/9 | Fractography 2, Bridge Design | |
| 11/16 | EXAM 1 - open notes. Fract mech - static and fatigue, fractography (microscopic and non-microscopic). No project or case study type questions. | |||
| 9 | 11/9 | 11/21 | Case studies and Ch 15 - nylon - and request specific test data for your projects (and briefly why - ie don't just ask for every possible test - only those you think relevant. May include hardness, microhardness, SEM images, EDX data, NDE data, microscopic/microstructure images...maybe something else, but these are probably 99% of the available testing. | |
| 11/30 | In-class presentations, 10 min max, include background information about the failure and application of your part. Discuss the data, discuss the background information about probable failure mechanisms (aka "background inforation on stress corrosion cracking or whatever...) and discuss your conclusions. | ALL teams should be ready on Weds to give their presentation. Bring the powerpoint presentation on a thumbdrive. YES, there will be class on Monday --- even though a few "forgot" about class this week.... |
PROJECT report DUE approximately December 8, end of day. There will be NO ORAL PRESENTATIONS.
Project Description
Blank Data Sheets (PDF)
How to take high quality photos for reports
Microscopy Links: How to Suggestions
Simulation Links: Cornell University Fracture Group
Materials Data Base:
MatWeb
Murphy's Law (the origin)
Class Notes - Overheads
Chapter 2 - Historical Perspectives (PDF) (PPT)
Links of Historical Technical Accidents
Note: some of these links are of excellent quality, others are not.
National Transportation Safety Board (transportation accidents)
Railroad Accidents:
Historic Railway Accidents
Airline Accidents:
FAA Lessons Learned
Airdisasters.com
NTSB Reports
De Havilland Comet
Comet Summary
Aerospace Accidents:
NASA Apollo 1 Mission
Apollo 13 Accident
Apollo 13 Review Board Report
Challenger - Presidential Commission Report
Challenger - Rogers Commission
JPL Endeavour Report (Hubble)
PBS Hubble info
About Hubble
Space Telescope Science Institute
HST News
Columbia Accident Investigation Report
Astronaut Memorial
Memorial with information about the accidents
Shipping Failures
Titanic Metallurgy
Project Liberty Ship (W.W. II Ships)
USS Scorpion and Thresher
Kursk
Structural Accidents:
MGM Grand Report on the 1980 Fire
Tacoma Narrows Today
Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Industrial and Nuclear
Chernobyl (Dr. Meshkati)
Three Mile Island
Union Carbide - Bhopal, India
Other Sites of Accidents:
Exponent (includes Titanic, Exxon Valdez, others)
Disaster City (several infamous events)