Failure Analysis

Forging Failure Analysis & Troubleshooting

Failure has causes, and most of them are identifiable from the failed part itself. These pages set out what each failure mode looks like, what produces it, and what actually prevents a repeat.

16detailed pages in this section

Failure Analysis

Why Do Crankshafts Fail?

Why crankshafts fail — journal fillet fatigue, torsional vibration, lubrication failure and misalignment — with the design and manufacturing factors that prevent each.

Why Do Gears Fail?

The four ways gear teeth fail — root bending fatigue, surface pitting, scuffing and wear — and how blank quality and case depth affect each.

Why Do Shafts Break?

Why shafts break — fatigue at stress concentrations, torsional overload, misalignment and material faults — with the design details that prevent each.

Why Do Forged Parts Crack?

Why forged components crack — forging cracks, quench cracks and service fatigue cracks — how to tell them apart and what causes each.

Why Do High Tensile Bolts Fail?

Why high tensile bolts fail — thread root fatigue, insufficient preload, hydrogen embrittlement and head-shank separation — with prevention for each.

Why Do Bearing Races Fail?

Why bearing races fail — rolling contact fatigue, subsurface inclusions, incorrect fits and contamination — and why steel cleanliness governs bearing life.

Why Do Lifting Hooks Fail?

Why lifting hooks fail — overload deformation, throat wear, fatigue and side loading — and why forged hooks deform visibly before breaking.

Quality

Why Do Forgings Fail Inspection?

The most common reasons forged components are rejected at inspection — dimensional, hardness, surface, NDT and documentation failures — and what causes each.