Brass is an alloy consisting of copper (Cu) and Zinc (Zn) and exists in two general categories: Red Brass: The two main constituents are Zn at less than 15wt % Cu at greater than 80wt %. This alloy has a red tint because all the Zn is dissolved in the Cu. This material rarely shows […]

Read Consulting was asked to perform a glass failure analysis on a cracked aircraft windshield. This is a laminated windshield contains with heating elements between the glass layers. The outer layer is a piece of 5mm thick annealed glass which cracked during normal use. The failure initiated at a damage site on the edge face […]

Often plastic structures are held together with molded in “clips”. These clips snap into place and hold the structure together. As a result, they see significant stress over their lifetime. Initially the clips operate satisfactorily; however, over time, they can become brittle if exposed to sunlight. The ultra violet wavelength region of natural sunlight  may […]

  Read Consulting Failure Analysis Services include first article testing for various importers. In this case, borosilicate glass carafes were to be imported, and the consultants at Read Consulting were asked to perform thermal shock durability tests. In this case, the carafe bottoms were scrubbed with a wet sponge embedded with 400 grit aluminum oxide […]