Abstract
Fractography is critical to failure analysis of metals and plastics. Fractography of plastics is a relatively new field with many similarities to metals. Using case histories, various aspects of failure analysis and fractography of metals and plastics are compared and contrasted.
Failure modes common to both metals and plastics include ductile overload, brittle fracture, impact, and fatigue. Analogies can also be drawn between stress-corrosion cracking (SCC) of metals and stress cracking of polymers. Other metal/plastic failure analogies include corrosion/chemical aging, dealloying/scission, residual stress/frozen-in stress, and welds/knit lines. Stress raisers, microstructure, material defects, and thermomechanical history play important roles in both types of materials. The key fractographic features for metals and plastics are described in this paper.
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Parrington, R.J. Fractography of metals and plastics. Practical Failure Analysis 2, 16–19 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02715463
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02715463