Plastic Failure Analysis

Plastic materials have become an integral part of modern life and are used in a wide range of industries thanks to their versatility, durability and cost-effectiveness. However, like any material, plastics are not immune to failure. Plastic failure analysis is an important discipline that seeks to determine the mode and cause of failure, enabling engineers and researchers to take timely remedial action to minimize the risk of further failure.

Evaluating how the part failed and why it failed, requires a scientific approach and extensive knowledge of polymeric materials. With the support of an experienced team of experts in materials science, engineering, and analytical technology, Alfa Chemistry is committed to providing professional plastic failure analysis services to help industries improve product reliability, optimize manufacturing processes, and ensure regulatory compliance.

Causes of Plastic Failure

There are many reasons for the failure of plastic parts, but the main reasons are as follows.

Environmental factors

Exposure to extreme temperatures, ultraviolet radiation, chemicals and moisture can cause degradation of plastic materials. Once the polymer chain breaks, the product will quickly crack and fracture.

Manufacturing defects

Inadequate processing conditions during manufacturing, such as improper cooling rates, poor mold design or insufficient material blending, can lead to defects such as voids, warpage and inconsistencies in the material structure, thereby weakening the final product.

Design flaws

Product design is fundamental to ensuring the long-term durability of plastic components. Incorrect design will highlight the weaknesses of polymer materials to long-term loads, chemical environments, high-speed loads, and fatigue loads, which can lead to brittle failure of the product over a short service life. In addition, incorrect material selection for a particular application can lead to material failure due to incompatible properties.

Our Plastic Failure Analysis Process

In order to determine the cause of plastic failure, Alfa Chemistry's experts will carry out the following four steps for analysis.

Step 1: Inspect and document the part
Perform a thorough visual inspection of failed plastic parts, looking for any visible signs of damage, cracks, deformation, or abnormal wear. If necessary, high-resolution photography and microscopy can be used for inspection. Document all observations and findings through writing or photographs.

Step 2: Determine the failure mode
Plastic components can fail through many different modes, such as brittle fracture, ductile overload, creep rupture, environmental stress cracking, molecular degradation, and fatigue. Determination of failure modes typically involves the use of optical or scanning electron microscopy to examine fractured surfaces in the failed component.

Step 3: Discover the root cause of failure
After the failure mode is determined, subsequent tests will be performed to determine the root cause of the part failing in this manner. It should be noted that in many cases, a single cause cannot be determined because multiple comprehensive factors may have contributed to the failure.

Step 4: Complete a detailed failure report
Finally, prepare a comprehensive failure analysis report and provide recommendations to solve the identified issues and prevent future failures.

Our Plastic Failure Analysis Techniques

Our plastic failure analysis techniques include, but are not limited to the following:

• Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
• Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)
• Thermomechanical analysis (TMA)
• Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)
• Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)

• Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA)
• Gel permeation chromatography (GPC)
• Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS)
• Intrinsic viscosity (IV)
• Melt flow rate (MFR)

• Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS)

Our Advantages

Experienced

Alfa Chemistry's technical team consists of experienced specialists with a deep understanding of plastic failure analysis.

Customer-Centric

Alfa Chemistry has always been customer-centered. Clear communication, efficient collaboration and sincere service contribute to a partnership characterized by trust.

Confidentiality

In the business world, maintaining confidentiality is necessary to comply with ethical and legal regulations. We will keep the customer-entrusted project confidential and can sign confidentiality agreements if necessary.