Posted on September 1, 2014
This term raises some vital issues that the engineer should be aware of when using it. First several definitions are available and thus it is perceived differently by different groups and individuals. From a legal standpoint, in many states, using the term to describe a product that was involved in an incident involving an injury […]
Posted on July 22, 2014
This post provides more suggestions for potentially beneficial ideas to consider when designing for in-service reliability of various types of equipment. As stated in Part 1, most of the ideas are especially applicable to manufacturing or processing equipment that must function continuously over a long service life for the overall system to be economically viable. […]
Posted on June 16, 2014
The optimal time to make decisions and take actions to minimize potential failures of equipment, facilities and components is during their design. This two-part blog post provides an overview of the types of issues involved and specific actions that can be useful to the design engineer. Archived blog posts (at www.dmme-engineering.com) that discuss specifics are […]
Posted on May 1, 2014
There are several approaches to controlling corrosion of rebar in concrete and the associated damage. This is a summary of some of the more important techniques that are used. NOTE: Much of this brief overview was obtained from information in the valuable reference (*) cited below. Control of infrastructure damage due to rebar corrosion can […]
Posted on March 13, 2014
Infrastructure (in its multiple forms) may fail in different ways. However, the most common failure mechanism is likely the breakage of concrete that contains corroded steel, reinforcing bars (rebar). How does this occur? This blog post provides a brief summary of the process. Reinforcement is generally necessary in all concrete structures because concrete alone is […]
Posted on February 28, 2014
It is well known that the several forms of infrastructure in the U.S. have seriously deteriorated. The President and the Congress are presently (late February 2014) in the process of working towards defining the level of funding, and funding methods, that will be applied to these problems. The current Transportation Bill covers most of the […]
Posted on January 27, 2014
Most engineers know about the danger of galvanic corrosion caused by physical contact between dissimilar metals exposed to a corrosive liquid. However, this possibility is often overlooked and other features of this type of corrosion may not be widely known. In galvanic attack the more active or electrochemically susceptible metal in the electrolyte is rapidly attacked while the […]
Posted on December 19, 2013
It is essential when beginning a root-cause failure analysis involving metallic materials to collect and maintain the as-found physical evidence properly prior to detailed examinations. This has two objectives. In all cases collecting and protecting the evidence in its undisturbed condition provides the best opportunity to derive meaningful good results from the subsequent analyses. Secondly, in a […]
Posted on September 28, 2013
Aluminum alloy materials are well known for their light weight and strength-to-weight ratios. They are also susceptible to several forms of corrosion. Relative to other metals, their natural electrochemical potential places them adjacent to other very susceptible (active) metals such as magnesium (Mg) and zinc (Zn) in a traditional galvanic series in seawater. However, Al alloys […]
Posted on July 27, 2013
FMEA is a structured methodology for thoroughly thinking through and correcting potential problems in an engineering design or planned process before in-service implementation. If done well, the procedure can greatly increase reliability by reducing or eliminating failure scenarios. Ideally the procedure is completed very early in the design or planning process when relatively inexpensive corrective […]
