Metallurgical engineers play a crucial role in several industries, including automotive, aerospace, construction, and manufacturing, by ensuring that these industries' products meet standards and regulations. They also provide valuable support to legal experts in cases involving failures or defects.
Utilizing a qualitative Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) approach to mitigate the risk of high consequence losses is a valuable tool for catastrophic events. This approach could provide insights into the potential impact of extreme events and may help in formulating risk management strategies.
AMTI has established itself as a leader in the maritime industry, with over thirty years of experience serving a diverse range of clients.
Forensic engineering plays a crucial role in determining the cause of failures and accidents involving machines, components, materials, or structures.
Whether you celebrate Easter for religious reasons or simply enjoy the traditions of the holiday, I hope that you take some time to reflect on the importance of resilience and perseverance in our personal and professional lives.
An incident occurred where a worker fell approximately 16 feet during the installation of a roof deck. The contractor claimed that the installation fell under the OSHA Controlled Decking Zone guidelines, meaning that the roof deck installation be no more than 90 feet from any leading edge to ensure proper safety. At the time of the incident, the project had installed pieces of decking approximately 206 feet from the nearest leading edge and contained 460 feet of hazardous falling edges, which was nearly 200 feet more than that recommended by OSHA.
A closet furnace contained a gap between the duct and wall cutout, which was taped along the top and front sides, however not taped along the back side near the wall. This allowed for additional air to come through the gap and avoid the filter, which after 9 years of use was nearly completely blocked. Eventually a draft reversal occurred causing air to be drawn down the flue, which then led to combustion products being expelled from the draft diverter inside the furnace. The air inside the closet then became fouled, and upon reingestion by the furnace, large amounts of carbon monoxide began to be produced. This caused CO to be distributed into rooms throughout the property.
As we gather to celebrate and toast, let us raise our glasses to a life filled with good fortune and good company. The success we achieve in our professional and personal endeavors is a direct result of the support and camaraderie shared among our peers, colleagues, and loved ones. In the pursuit of excellence, it's vital to surround ourselves with positive influences and encourage one another to reach our fullest potential. Let us be grateful for the blessings in our lives, and let us continue to foster meaningful relationships that bring joy and fulfillment. Here's to a life of prosperity and happiness, cheers!
In an apartment building fire, a kitchen window cracked allowing for fresh air to pour into the oxygen starved first floor causing a smoke explosion. The smoldering fire evolved into flaming fire around the stairwell and spread upwards. One of the residents was able to flee by breaking and escaping through the upstairs window. This caused a chimney effect to occur in the stairwell as the fire grew, until the second floor became engulfed in flames. The window in the first floor living room proceeded to break, creating another location for the smoke to escape. Eventually, the heat and lack of air supply caused a flashover fire to occur in the living room.
A fire occurred on the main floor of a building containing stone walls running from the basement to the roof. These stone walls contained gaps in the framing and contained zero fire stops. Thus, the fire easily entered the wall above the origin point and continued to spread.
During the process of ensuring compliance with weight distribution laws, the chassis frame of a truck trailer was undergoing extension. The driver proceeded to disengage the pins to facilitate the movement of the frame. However, the stops situated at the back of the frame, which serve as the primary obstacle to overextension, failed and were rendered inoperable.
A truck contained a frame with various holes fabricated throughout; however only certain holes were used in this application. These holes existed so that the frame could be used on multiple truck models, but this also decreased the overall strength of the frame. The trucks frame was then deformed due to a collision which caused the frame to fracture through some of the unused holes. One of these fracture locations was then able to puncture the fuel tank, leading to the tank leaking. This accident resulted in litigation and this animation showed how the frames collapsed and deformed during impact. This resulted in the fuel tank being compromised.
This animation depicts how a loose brake shoe lying in the eastbound left lane of a highway caused a Mazda Protege travelling at 55 mph to rupture its metal gas tank.
A group of workers entered a flue gas line to perform maintenance. Safety barricades were installed near the beginning section of thework zone; however, no barricades were constructed near the entrance to thewaste heat boiler. The lack of adequate barricades in this location led to acatastrophic event resulting in the death of one of the workers. This accidentled to litigation and this animation showed why there needed to be a barricadesecurely in place.
In this video, we are going to demonstrate how a failed ring weld can lead to an industrial accident with a forensic animation. We'll explain why the weld failed and give you a better understanding of how the failure occurred and what went wrong.
This video shows a Deep Sea Oil Platform Jack-up Rig Air Gap Animation that was used in litigation. Litigation issues arose due to the platform not being raised accordingly during a hurricane and sustaining damage. This animation revealed that had the Platform been raised to its maximum height, the damage would have been avoided, resulting in a win for the defense team.
A power outage occurred at an ammonia plant and Applied Materials Technologies Inc. (AMTI) was hired to investigate and determine the cause of this outage.
The services of Applied Materials Technologies Inc. (AMTI) were requested to assist with the analysis of a highway incident involving a commercial tractor/trailer vehicle. This incident was caused by the forward shift of a heavy load off the front-end of the trailer during the braking of the tractor/trailer combination, which led to the passenger compartment being compromised.
AMTI Investigates | Root cause of corrosion on sludge barges.
An explosion occurred at the plant as a result of restarting a three-stage compressor after it had been shut down due to the first stage of the compressor experienced low suction pressure.
On December 7, 2009, at approximately 2:30 pm, eight vessels in two rows of four were operating under a pressure of approximately 29,000 psig. Vessel No.2 suddenly and violently ruptured, 120 days into its 150-day operating cycle. The rupture of the vessel led to a tremendous explosion, which could be heard for miles and caused extensive damage to the surrounding area. Pieces of shrapnel were propelled hundreds of feet away and debris was scattered within the impact zone. The incident resulted in two fatalities and multiple injuries, as well as millions in damage to the facility and its surrounding environment.
Residential water line failure can be an incredibly frustrating and costly issue to deal with. It can cause a great deal of damage, both to the property and to the wallet. Water line failure can occur due to a variety of factors.
Two welding explosions occurred at a marine facility located on the northeast coast of United States. Two workers were injured.
The Plant operations group did not act on the warnings of white colored hot spots on the new temperature sensitive blue paint. These white spot indications identify steel temperatures of between 675ºF and 750ºF which occurred in the area of the susceptible carbon steel that failed.
Uncovering the mystery behind high voltage electrical switchgear corrosion requires a deep understanding of the environment the switchgear is being exposed to, the materials it is made from, and other contributing factors.
Mooring line failure and malfunctions have been identified as one of the most pressing issues in offshore asset integrity and safety. Research has indicated that approximately 45% of mooring failures are due to corrosion, fatigue, and other factors, which can result in single or multiple line failures.
Unsurprisingly, when something as catastrophic as an off-highway wheel failure occurs, it can be difficult to determine the cause. It is important to identify the underlying cause behind any off-highway wheel catastrophe to ensure that similar incidents can be avoided in the future.
We wish you a very Happy Holiday season and a peaceful and prosperous New Year!
Litigation engineering root cause analysis of a fire involving a welding operation that was being performed above a Frac Storage Tank filled with Sodium Hydrogen Sulfide (NaHS) at Paper and Packaging Facility. Leadership negligence at play.
During a plant startup, both fire and explosion at refinery made for a bad day. This incident involved the Raffinate Splitter–a distillation column that separates gasoline blending components.
Flat rates are available for full and half day assessments and investigations.
Failures can be small in nature, but often times the outcome can be very devastating, even with loss of life. When this happens, people want answers.
Metallurgists play an important role in determining where, how, and why a fire has occurred.
The expenses associated with non-compliance can far exceed the costs of the assistance we can provide to you!
AMTI is here to assist you with any challenge you face, whether it be expert witnesses, engineering consulting, failure investigations and more.
