While studying a weld failure on a tower crane section, it was discovered that the weep(drain) holes were plugged. As a result, there was standing water that froze and split the weld. The failure mode was ductile overload that started at a stress concentrator created by the weld meniscus The destructive force is created by […]
Evaluation of Hurricane Windows
Window Expert has been involved in a large case involving the failure of hurricane windows. These windows are made from two layers of glass with a thick layer (0.05″) of a flexible polymer.The lesson from this effort has been that the polymers selected for producing windows that meet Miami Dade County requirements must have the […]
Loading Dock Safety
Safety Engineer Discusses Loading Dock Safety: Portable Loading Ramps: The attaching mechanism for a loading ramp should be readily visible to the user. If not, he can think that the ramp is properly attached and proceed to use it. This was the case recently when a driver was using a ramp, and it fell injuring […]
Glass Transition Temperature of Epoxy Paints
California Materials Expert Discusses The Temperature Performance of Two Part Epoxy Coating:Most users think that, because epoxies are listed as thermoset plastics, epoxies do not soften at elevated temperatures. Actually, after initial hardening epoxies demonstrate softening at temperatures above the initial cure temperature. This was the case for epoxy paint used to coat the inside […]
Hand Held Machine Controls
Factory Safety Expert reccomends that all hand held coltrols have a power “cut-off” function on the hand held control for operator protectection.