Technical Challenge: A plastic clip used in a safety critical application failed.

Solution:  Veryst performed material analysis of the clip using a multistage, nonlinear finite element analysis to calculate the evolution of stress within the plastic component starting with installation and ending with daily use.  Veryst used the Three Network model to account for the residual stresses, temperature dependence, and material nonlinearities.

Result: The analysis demonstrated (and illustrated in the animation to the right) that the installation stresses exceeded the yield stress of the plastic and compromised the integrity of the clip.