Speaker: Sarah Bagnall, Director of Consultancy Services, R-TECH Materials
In the marine industry, materials are subjected to some of the harshest environments: corrosive atmospheres, high-pressure systems, fluctuating temperatures, and high mechanical stresses. Despite best efforts in design, operation, and maintenance, failures in critical materials still occur. When they do, the consequence can have the potential to be catastrophic for human safety and well-being, the environment and / or continuity of operations. The impact of materials failures is undoubtedly negative for the user, however, determining the root cause of such failures presents an opportunity to learn from the experience. Adopting such a philosophy is critical to the continual improvement of plant safety, performance, availability, and reliability, whilst reducing maintenance costs.
In this presentation, the necessary steps for a materials failure analysis are discussed along with failure mechanisms which may be encountered within the marine industry. Case studies relevant to the industry will also be presented.
