Forensic Engineers and Consultants

Blog Posts by: John Phillips

Author John Phillips

Expertise Includes:

  • Aerial Work Platforms
  • Cranes & RIgging
  • Failure Analysis
  • Fires & Explosions
  • Heavy Machinery
  • HVAC Systems
  • Machinery Damage & Assessment

The Importance of Crane Wire Rope Lubrication

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Wire ropes are critical components of cranes and play a crucial role in ensuring the safety and efficiency of crane operations. To extend the life of these ropes and maintain their strength and performance, it is essential to regularly lubricate them. Read More

The Use of Taglines to Control Crane Loads

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The adequacy of a crane’s load line to support the weight of the object being lifted is an obvious concern when evaluating a crane lifting operation. Less obvious, but often equally important, is the presence and adequacy of taglines to provide control of the load orientation.

Taglines are simply ropes or lines that are Read More

Heavy Machinery Fires Caused by Hydraulic Hose Failures

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Heavy machinery fires are often caused by hydraulic hose failures.  Pressurized hydraulic fluid escaping from a failed hose assembly can be atomized into a fine spray that can be ignited by heated engine surfaces such as the engine exhaust or turbocharger.

Hydraulic hoses near the engine compartment of an excavator that burned.

 

Hydraulic hoses often fail due to age and wear, requiring regular inspection and replacement of hydraulic hoses to prevent failures. Hoses may also fail if they are misrouted.  Misrouting can lead to the hose being pinched or causing it to chafe against a sharp metal surface. Read More

Stress Corrosion Cracking of Stainless Steel in Marine Environments

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Stress corrosion cracking involves the slow growth of small, often microscopic, cracks through a metal part in a corrosive environment.  The cracking can continue to the point that the part fails suddenly and unexpectedly even though it still appears new and in good condition.

My first experience with stress corrosion cracking happened in the Charleston harbor when the stainless steel rudder suddenly separated from a sailboat during moderate winds. What had been a pleasant evening sail turned instantly into being in a difficult to control boat in the middle of the busy shipping channel. The rudder remained attached only Read More

Load Holding Valves in Hydraulic Cranes

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Hydraulic cranes absolutely rely on the integrity of their high-pressure fluid systems for safe operation.  A crane can become out of level when an outrigger cylinder leaks over time, possibly leading to a tip over.  A boom can collapse if a hydraulic hose ruptures.  It is not possible to absolutely prevent hydraulic cylinders from developing leaks or prevent hoses from rupturing during the life of a typical crane, therefore crane manufacturers provide load holding valves at key components to prevent these dangerous incidents.  In fact, ASME B30.5, Mobile and Locomotive Cranes, requires load holding valves or equivalent devices at outrigger cylinders, boom support cylinders, and boom telescoping cylinders. Read More

Crane Incident Handbook

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Cranes are powerful lifting devices that we see everyday in construction areas, shipping terminals, and industrial sites. They are so common that we often pass by them with little thought. Cranes, however, can sometimes become involved in incidents that injure people or damage equipment. Read More

Graphitic Corrosion – Difficult to determine before a failure!

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Graphitic corrosion is a process that may happen in equipment made of iron, particularly grey cast iron, but also ductile cast iron. Graphitic corrosion can lead to unexpected catastrophic failure of the affected part because the cast iron can lose its strength without a visible warning such as a change in size, shape, or appearance. Read More

Improper Design Leads to Fatigue Failure In Blower Shaft

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A blower used to exhaust air from an industrial process stopped functioning when the blower wheel drive shaft fractured.  The process, and thereby most of the plant, had to operate at a reduced volume until the blower wheel could be replaced.  The blower wheel had been installed during a shutdown a week before the incident.  The blower wheel was a spare installed when the existing blower wheel was sent for scheduled remanufacturing. Read More

Defective Clevis Pin Culprit in Runaway Trailer

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A large agricultural trailer had been connected to a truck using a clevis pin with a spring locking clip.  The trailer became disconnected from the truck and collided with an oncoming vehicle.  The trailer was in poor condition, did not have safety chains, and had substantial recent modifications by the owner. Read More

Another Dimension of Engineering, Part 2: Visual Demonstrations Can Clarify the Issue

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In our last post on 3D scanning, we introduced Warren’s new Faro Focus X 330 three dimensional scanner.  To recap, the Faro scanner combines three dimensional laser measurement with automated photography to capture 360-degree data from the real world. Potential applications include vehicle accident scenes and damaged vehicles, structural collapses, fire scenes, flood damage scenes, and machinery and equipment analysis, among others. In this post, we will highlight some of the outputs that can be created from the detailed data captured by the scanner. Read More

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