ELECTRON MICROSCOPY INVESTIGATION ON FAILED WIRE MESH

A scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is the technique mostly used in failure analysis. In this works, SEM was used to investigate the root cause of failure in wire mesh samples used in a petrochemical plant. Visual observation on the wire mesh showed brownish rust and mechanical scratch at the damage area. The wire mesh was cleaned using pickling acid resulting in smooth clean sample. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) result indicates that the sample surface was covered by oxide precipitate. SEM micrographs show one direction scratches exist at the damage area. Fractography study exhibits typical ductile structure and confirms that the material is ductile and was not exposed to any corrosive substances. The failure of this material was not caused by the corrosion attack or embrittlement but instead mechanical scratching on the material caused the failure.

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Macroscopic examination shows the mesh wire surface was covered with brownish rust as shown in Figure 1a. The rust nevertheless can be easily cleaned using pickling acid solution. Figure 1b shows the cleaned surface of the mesh wire.

 

At the damage areas, there were scratches on the mesh wire surface. This is shown in Figure 2a. In figure 2b, the scratched surface can be seen clearly without any residual brownish rust. Absence of brownish rust after cleaning suggests that the surface was not attacked by any corrosion or acidic environment. These scratches were not found on any non-damaged areas upon further examination.

The SEM micrograph and EDS spectrum of brownish rust was shown in Figure 3a and 3b. These results show that oxides covered the surface and there is no indication that any of corrosive agents or acidic elements presents. The absence of corrosive agent elements strengthens the fact that the surface was not attacked by any of corrosion or acidic environment.

The fracture feature of tensioned sample shows a typical ductile structure, representatively shown in Figure 4. This suggests that a tensile or shear overload failure of the ductile material, and not brittle as expected if the sample was exposed to harsh or corrosive environment.

Elemental composition of the sample was determined by EDS (Table 1) confirmed that the sample was within standard compositional specification for 304 stainless steel, as reported by manufacturer. This implies that the failure occurred at the design lifetime of the mesh wire is not due to incorrect specification of materials.

In addition, the scratches at the damaged areas were found consist of parallel lines as shown in Figure 5a and 5b. There is a likelihood that the damages were actually caused by mechanical works those possibly done during maintenance procedure. We therefore recommended that extra precautionary measures must be taken during the installation cleaning and maintenance of the mesh wire. The cleaning of the mesh wire should be conducted using soft object.

The conclusion; Mechanical forces resulting scratches that leads to damage structures caused the failure of the mesh wire. Corrosion of the mesh wire is not the direct reason the failure. The mesh wire still retains its structures after cleaning of the rustic surface layer.

Note: 

Article presented in 13th Scientific Conference &14th Annual General Meeting. Electron Microscopy Society of Malaysia 13th - 15th December 2004 The Palm Garden Hotel, Putrajaya, Malaysia


Co-authored by; Dr Mohd Harun, Hafizal Yazid, Megat Harun Al Rashid Megat Ahmad, Zaiton Selamat, Muhamad Jalil and Mohd Shariff Sattar from Industrial Technology Division Malaysian Institute for Nuclear Technology Research (MINT), Bangi 43000 Kajang, Selangor.

Publication

Date	Article’s Title	Journal/ Proceeding
2009 (In consideration for publication)	Analysis of Weld Cracking in A Piping of Petrochemical Plant	Engineering Failure Analysis
2009 (In consideration for publication)	Failure Analysis on a Ruptured Petrochemical Pipe	Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention
2007	Nitridation of Al-Mg-Si Alloys Trough Dynamic Heating	Sains Malaysiana. 36(2)(2007): 195-200
2006	Effect of Fly ash particle reinforcement on Microstructure, Porosity and Hardness in Al-(Si-Mg) Cast Composite	Asean Journal on Science & Technology for Development, Vol. 23, No. 1&2. pp; 113-122.
2005	Sintesis Aluminium Nitrida Menggunakan Menggunakan Aloi Al-Mg-Si melalui Penitridaan Terarah	Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences, Vol. 9 (1): 1-5
2001	Kesan Penambahan Timah Terhadap Kekerasan Aloi Al-12%Si-1%Mg	Journal of Solid State and Technology Letters. 8(1 & 2); 69-76
Dec 2008	Development Of A Lid Sealed Furnace For The Production Of Mg Alloys	Malaysian Metallurgical Conference – MMC 2008, 3-4 December 2008, UKM, Bangi, Malaysia
Dec 2008 (To be consider in Journal of Mechanical and Materials Engineering)	The Effect of Heat Treatment on the Open Circuit Potential of Magnesium Sacrificial Anode	Malaysian Metallurgical Conference – MMC 2008, 3-4 December 2008, UKM, Bangi, Malaysia
Dec 2008 (To be consider in Journal of Mechanical and Materials Engineering)	Microstructural study and differential scanning calorimetry analysis at elevated temperatures of superheated as-cast A357 alloy	Malaysian Metallurgical Conference – MMC 2008, 3-4 December 2008, UKM, Bangi, Malaysia
July 2007	Preliminary Microstructure and Hardness Studies of A356/Stainless Steel Composite via Gravity Die Casting Technique	1st International Conference on Sustainable Materials 2007 (ICoSM2007). Park Royal Hotel, Penang.; 195-197
July 2007	Effect of Milling Periods on the Iron Mill Scale Particle Size and Properties	1st International Conference on Sustainable Materials 2007 (ICoSM2007). Park Royal Hotel, Penang.; 235-238
July 2007	Effect Of Colloidal SiO2 Content on the Morphology of Coated Ceramic Particles	1st International Conference on Sustainable Materials 2007 (ICoSM2007). Park Royal Hotel, Penang.; 265-267
July 2007	Study of Spot Welding of Austenitic Stainless Steel Type 304	1st International Conference on Sustainable Materials 2007 (ICoSM2007). Park Royal Hotel, Penang.; 229-230
July 2007	The Effect of Milling Time on Microstructure and Hardness of the Aluminium Silicon Carbide (Al-10 Wt. % SiCp) Composite	1st International Conference on Sustainable Materials 2007 (ICoSM2007). Park Royal Hotel, Penang.; 205-207
July 2007	Effect of Particle Coating on Matrix-Reinforcement Bonding	1st International Conference on Sustainable Materials 2007 (ICoSM2007). Park Royal Hotel, Penang.; 174-177
July 2007	The Microstructure and Properties of Aluminium Composite Reinforced with 65 µm Alumina Particles via Powder Metallurgy	1st International Conference on Sustainable Materials 2007 (ICoSM2007). Park Royal Hotel, Penang.; 165-167
July 2007	The Effect of Lubrication Agent in Fabrication of Recycled Steel Powder Using Ball Milling From Machining Steel Chips	1st International Conference on Sustainable Materials 2007 (ICoSM2007). Park Royal Hotel, Penang.; 146-148
June 9-11, 2007	Preliminary Microstructure and Hardness Studies of A356/Stainless Steel Composite via Gravity Die Casting Technique	1st International Conference on Sustainable Materials 2007 (ICoSM2007). Park Royal Hotel, Penang.; 195-197
June 9-11, 2007	Effect of Milling Periods on the Iron Mill Scale Particle Size and Properties	1st International Conference on Sustainable Materials 2007 (ICoSM2007). Park Royal Hotel, Penang.; 235-238
June 9-11, 2007	Effect Of Colloidal SiO2 Content on the Morphology of Coated Ceramic Particles	1st International Conference on Sustainable Materials 2007 (ICoSM2007). Park Royal Hotel, Penang.; 265-267
June 9-11, 2007	Study of Spot Welding of Austenitic Stainless Steel Type 304	1st International Conference on Sustainable Materials 2007 (ICoSM2007). Park Royal Hotel, Penang.; 229-230
June 9-11, 2007	The Effect of Milling Time on Microstructure and Hardness of the Aluminium Silicon Carbide (Al-10 Wt. % SiCp) Composite	1st International Conference on Sustainable Materials 2007 (ICoSM2007). Park Royal Hotel, Penang.; 205-207
June 9-11, 2007	Effect of Particle Coating on Matrix-Reinforcement Bonding	1st International Conference on Sustainable Materials 2007 (ICoSM2007). Park Royal Hotel, Penang.; 174-177
June 9-11, 2007	The Microstructure and Properties of Aluminium Composite Reinforced with 65 µm Alumina Particles via Powder Metallurgy	1st International Conference on Sustainable Materials 2007 (ICoSM2007). Park Royal Hotel, Penang.; 165-167
June 9-11, 2007	The Effect of Lubrication Agent in Fabrication of Recycled Steel Powder Using Ball Milling From Machining Steel Chips	1st International Conference on Sustainable Materials 2007 (ICoSM2007). Park Royal Hotel, Penang.; 146-148
Nov 29-30, 2006	Chemical Analysis on the Surface of Urea Stripper Bolt.	International conference on x-ray and related techniques in research and industry 2006 (ICXRI 2006). Palm Garden Hotel, Putrajaya
Nov 29-30, 2006	Microstructure Characterization of Fe-Cu and Fe-Al.	International conference on x-ray and related techniques in research and industry 2006 (ICXRI 2006). Palm Garden Hotel, Putrajaya
Nov 29-30, 2006	Fracture Morphology Study of Un-Aged and Artificial Aged Al 6063 Alloy after Stress Corrosion Cracking Test.	International conference on x-ray and related techniques in research and industry 2006 (ICXRI 2006). Palm Garden Hotel, Putrajaya
9-10 Dec 2006	Microstructure and hardness evaluation of Al-Si piston alloy	National Metallurgical Conference 2006 (NMC2006). Putra Palace Hotel, Kangar Perlis.
9-10 Dec 2006	Phase Evolution of A356 Alloy	National Metallurgical Conference 2006 (NMC2006). Putra Palace Hotel, Kangar Perlis.
9-10 Dec 2006	Analysis of Weld Cracking in a Piping of Petrochemical Plant.	National Metallurgical Conference 2006 (NMC2006). Putra Palace Hotel, Kangar Perlis.
9-10 Dec 2006	Fabrication of A356 Al Alloy-SiCp Composites by Stir Casting Method	National Metallurgical Conference 2006 (NMC2006). Putra Palace Hotel, Kangar Perlis.
9-10 Dec 2006	Microstructure and hardness evaluation of car brake disc.	National Metallurgical Conference 2006 (NMC2006). Putra Palace Hotel, Kangar Perlis.
9-10 Dec 2006	Comparison studies for automotive exhaust valve and intake valve.	National Metallurgical Conference 2006 (NMC2006). Putra Palace Hotel, Kangar Perlis.
9-10 Dec 2006	Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Accelerator Pedal	National Metallurgical Conference 2006 (NMC2006). Putra Palace Hotel, Kangar Perlis.
Sept 11-14, 2006	Simulation Of Aluminium Stir Casting Technique	MINT R&D Seminar. Tun Dr Ismail Hall. MINT Bangi
Sept 11-14, 2006	Numerical Modelling Of Creep In Metals: Numerical Results	MINT R&D Seminar. Tun Dr Ismail Hall. MINT Bangi
Dec 5-7, 2005	Microstructure of As-Cast Aluminum Fly Ash Composites	14th Scientific Conference & 15th Annual General Meeting of the Electron Microscopy Society of Malaysia. Vistana Hotel, Penang
Dec 5-7, 2005	Failure analysis of heat exchanger tube for air cooler transport	14th Scientific Conference & 15th Annual General Meeting of the Electron Microscopy Society of Malaysia. Vistana Hotel, Penang
Dec 5-7, 2005	Failure analysis on heat exchanger tube of vinyl chloride plant	14th Scientific Conference & 15th Annual General Meeting of the Electron Microscopy Society of Malaysia. Vistana Hotel, Penang
Dec 5-7, 2005	The Growth of Aluminium/Aluminium Nitride Composite In Nitriding Atmosphere	14th Scientific Conference & 15th Annual General Meeting of the Electron Microscopy Society of Malaysia. Vistana Hotel, Penang
Dec18-21, 2005	Wear behaviour of stir cast aluminum alloy-silicon carbide particulate composite	Regional Conference on Solid State Science &Technology 2005. Hyyat Hotel, Kuantan.
Dec 18-21, 2005	Microstructural evaluation on aluminium-fly ash composites produced by stir-casting method	Regional Conference on Solid State Science &Technology 2005. Hyyat Hotel, Kuantan.
Aug 15-16, 2005	Role of Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) in Metal Failure Analysis	MINT Technical Convection 2005 (MTC’05). ESSET, Bangi
Aug 15-16, 2005	Stir Casting Method in Production of Aluminium Matrix Composites	MINT Technical Convection 2005 (MTC’05). ESSET, Bangi
Presentation at Apr 8, 2005	Porous Blocks From Fly Ash of Waste By-Product	Material Technology Colloquium, MINT, Bangi
Presentation at May 13, 2005	Development of al-fly ash composites using stir casting technique	Material Technology Colloquium, MINT, Bangi
Presentation at Dec 9, 2005	Distribution of Reinforcement in composites	Material Technology Colloquium, MINT, Bangi
Presentation at Feb 18, 2005	Development of Al-Fly Ash Composites Using Stir Casting Technique	Materials Technology Group Colloquium MINT, Bangi
Jul, 2005	Failure analysis of industrial metal parts and components	R&D Quest. Malaysia Institute for Nuclear Technology Research (MINT)
Mar, 2005	SEM services: Looking back at 2004	R&D Quest. Malaysia Institute for Nuclear Technology Research (MINT)
Dec, 2004	The effect of solution treatment and aging on the properties of recycled aluminium silicon alloys	MTEC Colloquium Series 2004, Zirconium Room, Materials Technology Group, Industrial Technology Division, MINT (MINT/P/2003/2)
Dec, 2004	Preliminary study on tensile properties and fractography of the recycled aluminum cast product	MTEC Colloquium Series 2004, Zirconium Room, Materials Technology Group, Industrial Technology Division, MINT (MINT/P/2003/2)
July 12-13,  2004	Granulation Process for Agglomerated Fly Ash Powder	MINT R&D 2004 Seminar. MINT Bangi
July 12-13,  2004	The Effect Of Solution Treatment And Aging On The Properties of Recycled Aluminum Silicon Alloys	MINT R&D 2004 Seminar. MINT Bangi
July 12-13,  2004	Microstructural and Mechanical Behaviours of Unreinforcement Cast Aluminium-Silicon Alloy	MINT R&D 2004 Seminar. MINT Bangi
July 12-13,  2004	Preliminary Study on Tensile Properties and Fractography of the Recycled Aluminium Cast Product	MINT R&D 2004 Seminar. MINT Bangi
Dec 3-4, 2004	Wear Behavior of Stir Cast Al-SiC Composites	2nd Malaysia Brake Friction Materials Colloquium 2004. Intekma Resort & Convention Centre UiTM Shah Alam
Dec 13 – 15, 2004	Electron Microscopy Investigation on Failed Wire Mesh	13th Scientific Conference & 14th Annual General Meeting. Electron Microscopy Society of Malaysia. The Palm Garden Hotel, Putrajaya
Dec 13 – 15, 2004	Optical and Electron Microscopy in investigation of Heat Exchanger tube failure	13th Scientific Conference & 14th Annual General Meeting. Electron Microscopy Society of Malaysia. The Palm Garden Hotel, Putrajaya
Dec 13 – 15, 2004	Optical and Electron Microscopy in investigation of Heat Exchanger tube failure	13th Scientific Conference & 14th Annual General Meeting. Electron Microscopy Society of Malaysia. The Palm Garden Hotel, Putrajaya
May 2004	Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM): First Micrographs	Researcher Column, R&D Quest, Malaysia Institute for Nuclear Technology Research
Jan 2004	Penggunaan semula abu terbang sebagai penguat dalam komposit	MTEC Colloquium Series 2003, Zirconium Room, Materials Technology Group, Industrial Technology Division, MINT (MINT/P/2003/3)
Jan-Jun, 2003	Sinaran: Keperluan Perlindungan	Nuclear Bulletin of Malaysia. Vol. 9. ISSN 13945610
Sept 23-25, 2003	Production of Porous Ceramic Blocks Using Waste By-product of Fly Ash	Malaysian Science and Technology Congress 2003, Cititel, Midvalley, Kuala Lumpur
Dec 15-17, 2003	Composition and Crystallinity of Fly Ash Particles	12th Scientific Conference & 13th Annual General Meeting of the Electron Microscopy Society of Malaysia. The City Bayview Hotel, Langkawi, Kedah
Oct 8-9, 2002.	Kajian Termogravimetri terhadap Peranan Mg dalam Tindakbalas Aloi Al-1%Si(3-7)% Mg dengan gas Nitrogen	Seminar UKM-UNRI Ke-2, Fakulti Sains dan Teknologi, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
July 16-17,  2002	Pembentukan Aluminium Nitrida Melalui Tindakbalas Penitridaan Aloi Al	Seminar Kimia Bersama UKM-ITB Ke-5. Hotel Equatorial, Bandar Hilir, Melaka
Apr 15-17, 2002	Kesan penambahan unsur-unsur Mg, Si dan Zn keatas penitridaan aloi Al.	Kolokium Siswazah Pertama Fakulti Sains dan Teknologi, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Pusat Kembangan, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Sept, 2002	Kajian Kesan Si Terhadap Tindakbalas Penitridaan Terus Aloi Al-7%bt. Mg	Seminar IRPA RMK-7. Pusat Pengurusan Penyelidikan, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Sept 4-5, 2000	Penentuan Modulus Pukal Bagi Komposit tersinter Menggunakan Kaedah Ultrasonik,	Persidangan Fizik Kebangsaan (PERFIK 2000), Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan
August, 15-17, 2000	Effect of Mixing and Sintering Conditions on the Properties of Cold Pressed Al/Al2O3 Composite,	2nd International Conference on Advances in Strategic Technologies (ICAST 2000), Renaissances Palm Garden Hotel, Putrajaya, Malaysia

Consultancy

Date	Title		Company
Jan 2009	Metallurgical Inspection on Crankshaft LH (P/N: 13037-1627)		Motosikal Dan Enjin Nasional Sdn Bhd (Modenas), Gurun, Kedah
Apr 2008	Metallurgical inspection on camshaft – valve (MA 120) P/N : 12044–101-0003		Motosikal Dan Enjin Nasional Sdn Bhd (Modenas), Gurun, Kedah
Mar 2006	Failure analysis on burst bellow		Vinyl Chloride Sdn. Bhd. Kerteh, Terengganu
Mar 2006	Failure analysis of feed piping spool		Vinyl Chloride Sdn. Bhd. Kerteh, Terengganu
Mar 2006	Failure analysis on elbow tube		Vinyl Chloride Sdn. Bhd. Kerteh, Terengganu
Mar 2006	Failure analysis on heat exchanger tubes		Vinyl Chloride Sdn. Bhd. Kerteh, Terengganu
Feb 2006	Replication inspection and hardness measurement on pressure vessel		Total Sterling (M) Sdn. Bhd., Kemaman Terengganu
Oct 2005	Metallurgical analysis on boiler tube		Petronas Gas Bhd., Gebeng, Kuantan, Pahang
Oct 2005	Metallurgical analysis on E-22-03 defective plate		Petronas Fertilizer (Kedah) Sdn. Bhd., Gurun, Kedah
Oct 2005	Metallurgical analysis on 33-HV-02 shaft		Petronas Fertilizer (Kedah) Sdn. Bhd., Gurun, Kedah
Jul 2005	Replica inspection on riser tube connected to waste heat boiler E-13-06 and steam drum V-13-01		Petronas Fertilizer (Kedah) Sdn. Bhd., Gurun, Kedah
Jul 2005	Failure analysis of LD1-11-E104 and  LD1-11-E105 heat exchanger tubes		Petronas Research & Scientific Service Sdn. Bhd. Bangi, Selangor
Apr 2005	Laboratory Investigation report on evaluation of corrosion attack of carbon steel weld		Petronas Research & Scientific Service Sdn. Bhd. Bangi, Selangor
Jan 2005	Failure analysis on heat exchanger tube E-136 for transport air cooler		Petronas Research & Scientific Service Sdn. Bhd. Bangi, Selangor
Jan 2005	Laboratory investigation report on failure analysis of leaked heat exchanger tube E1406		Vinyl Chloride Sdn. Bhd. Kerteh, Terengganu
Jan 2005	Laboratory investigation report on failure analysis of leaked carbon steel		Vinyl Chloride Sdn. Bhd. Kerteh, Terengganu
Nov 2004	Laboratory investigation on stainless steel pipe leaking		Vinyl Chloride Sdn. Bhd. Kerteh, Terengganu
Oct 2004	Microstructure and material analysis on brake drum		Sapura Brake Technology Sdn. Bhd., Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor
Sept 2004	Failure investigation report on hexagonal socket bolt for K-16-01 syn. Gas compressor 5V-9V		Petronas Fertilizer (Kedah) Sdn. Bhd., Gurun, Kedah
Sept 2004	Chemical analysis on urea stripper bolt		Petronas Fertilizer (Kedah) Sdn. Bhd., Gurun, Kedah
Sept 2004	Laboratory investigation report on wire mesh of strainer		Vinyl Chloride Sdn. Bhd. Kerteh, Terengganu
Jun 2004	Failure Investigation of Gas Burner Nozzle		Petronas Fertilizer (Kedah) Sdn. Bhd., Gurun, Kedah
Apr  2004	Metallurgical Analysis of Ring Starter Gear		Sapura Machining Corporation, Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor
Apr 2004	Failure Investigation of Heat Exchanger Tube 1507		Vinyl Cloride Sdn Bhd, Kerteh, Terengganu
Apr 2004	Mould Development Based on Standard Mould Specification.		Malaysia Institute for Nuclear Technology Research (MINT)
Oct 2003	Replica Inspections on Boiler Tubes,		Petronas Fertilizer (Kedah) Sdn. Bhd., Gurun, Kedah

Research experience

Before joining UniMAP

My research interest was in the area of metal/ceramic composite and metallurgical forensic analysis. During I was a graduate researcher; I did research to develop an Al/AlN composite using directed nitridation of Al alloys which intended to be applied as electronic packaging materials.

After I joined MINT as a research officer, I worked together in metallurgical research group. In this group, I was involved in developing metal (Al) matrix composite (MMC) using wasted ceramic particulates (fly ash) as reinforcing material. This MMC, projected for applied as brake disc materials. The intention of our research project was to develop the light weight, high strength, good wear resistance, high running temperature and high stiffness materials. Activities in this research include preparing aluminum alloy-fly ash composite using the stir casting technique and examining their properties. The preparation stages are; treatment of fly ash particles (purification, granulation, preheat-treatment & particles coating), production of aluminum alloy (Al-Si-Mg) and fabrication of the composite (melting of alloy, addition of treated fly ash, casting). Factors studied were propeller design (propeller size, speed, and shaft angle), composition variation, pouring, mixing and casting temperature. Other factors that which studied were heat treatment and surface finishing of the fabricated composite. Characterizations of the fabricated composite comprise examination of the composite microstructure, chemical, physical and mechanical properties. The composite fabricated appear as attractive foundry products for automotive applications with their low cost (due to the using of secondary Al and waste i.e. fly ash), and enhancement of several properties as observed (higher hardness, higher compressive proof strength, higher elastic modulus and super abrasion resistance).

Apart from metal/ceramic composites research, my personal interest is metallurgical failure analysis because it is incredible to handle and examine the multidisciplinary aspects of the particular analysis of the failed component, its design, its fabrication and its operating history for clues that help to explain how and why the component failed. I have 6 years experiences in providing consultation services on failure analysis and remnant life assessment (replica inspection) mostly for Malaysia’s oil and gas industry. Since that, I have found numerous types of failures and most of them were relates to corrosion damage.

I also had won silver and two bronze medals in national innovation competitions and has presented and published more than 30 technical papers related to my six years involves in research.

After joining UniMAP

My research interests are in the field of corrosion cathodic protection. I would like to helps oil & gas industries in Malaysia by developing a high driving potential and high efficiency of galvanic anode to protect an underground iron based metal such as gas pipeline, storage tanks and etc. Apart of that, my final aims is to involves myself in alternative energy research where galvanic anode knowledge and experience I in developing a high potential Mg could be used as a new innovative metal fuel cell