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Historically, fractography has been used as a post-mortem analysis of failed components and structures. In most cases of fatigue cracking, stress corrosion cracking, and overload failure, conclusions as to the nature of the failure are reached based on qualitative analysis of failed parts, and recommendations are made to rectify the problem.
In some instances a more detailed quantitative fractographic analysis may be in order. Quantitative analysis of a failure may be performed with the assistance of linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM), knowledge of the fatigue crack growth behavior, knowledge of damage processes like SCC and creep crack growth, and any other available evidence. By using quantitative fractographic analysis, a detailed chronological account of a component's service history, with loads and cycles can be extracted.
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