In modern industrial production, product reliability and safety are crucial. Whether it is electronic equipment, mechanical equipment, construction engineering, aerospace, or other fields, products may fail or fail during use. Failure not only affects product performance but may also bring safety hazards and economic losses. Therefore, conducting scientific and systematic failure analysis to find the root cause of failure is an important means to improve product quality and reliability.



Failure analysis refers to the detection, observation, and research of failed products or systems through a series of technical means to find out their causes, mechanisms, and processes. The identification of the cause of failure is the core of the entire failure analysis process and usually includes several steps:



1. Collect information and background investigation



Before starting the analysis, it is necessary to fully understand the background of the failure, including the product usage environment, operating conditions, the time and process of failure occurrence, and whether there are abnormal operations. At the same time, collect relevant technical data such as design drawings, manufacturing processes, and material composition, to provide a basis for subsequent analysis.

　　2. Failure phenomenon observation and recording

　　Observe and record the failure samples macroscopically and microscopically, recording the characteristics of the failure location, morphology, color change, cracks, corrosion, etc. Use magnifying glasses, microscopes (such as optical microscopes, scanning electron microscopes), and X-ray flaw detection, etc., to obtain intuitive failure images, which are helpful for preliminary judgment of the failure type.



3. Material and process analysis



Material defects or improper processing are important factors leading to many failures. By means such as chemical composition analysis, metallographic analysis, hardness testing, and tensile testing, evaluate whether the material meets the design requirements and whether there are problems such as impurities, pores, inclusions, or improper heat treatment.



4. Mechanical and environmental analysis



Through finite element analysis or other simulation methods, simulate the stress state of the product during use, and judge whether the failure is due to stress concentration, fatigue fracture, overload, or other reasons. In addition, environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and corrosive media need to be considered for their impact on product performance.



5. Comprehensive analysis and cause location

　　Conduct a comprehensive judgment of the analysis results, combining tools such as Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), to find the root cause of the failure. For example, is it due to design defects, manufacturing defects, improper assembly, or misuse or poor maintenance?

　　6. Propose improvement measures



After clarifying the cause of failure, propose corresponding improvement measures, such as optimizing design structure, improving processing technology, strengthening quality control, and improving usage instructions, to prevent similar problems from occurring again.

　　In summary, failure analysis is a systematic and scientific process that requires the comprehensive application of knowledge from multiple disciplines to identify the cause of failure. Only by accurately identifying the root cause of failure can we provide strong support for product improvement and technological advancement, thereby improving product reliability and market competitiveness. For enterprises, attaching importance to failure analysis is not only responsible for product quality but also a guarantee for the sustainable development of the enterprise.