Failure Analysis

Case study

Plastic Clip Failure
A plastic clip used to retain a patient support failed, resulting in an occupant death. Veryst was asked to determine the cause of failure.
Small-Scale Friction Measurement
Medical devices, combination products, consumer products, and manufacturing processes often include components that slide past each other. These products and processes can fail when the friction forces between the surfaces are too high, due to surface roughness, lubrication, materials, or environmental conditions. Here Veryst introduces a specialized fixture to measure the friction between a small metal wire and three polymer materials, to select a backup supplier for dual sourcing that would maintain low friction in a medical device.
Strength of Additively Manufactured Parts
Veryst can predict the ultimate strength and failure modes of design concepts generated using topology optimization and produced using additive manufacturing. We use advanced finite element analysis (FEA) that accounts for the nonlinear behavior of the material being used to make the part.

Service

Additive Manufacturing
Veryst Engineering helps clients realize high-performance additively manufactured parts. Our strong foundational knowledge in materials science and mechanics coupled with practical expertise in experimental methods and engineering software make us uniquely qualified to solve complex additive manufacturing challenges.
Adhesive Joints & Interfaces
Veryst assists clients with the selection of adhesive materials, development of bonding processes, and mechanical analysis of interfaces. We employ chemical characterization, mechanical testing, and advanced computational methods to design robust adhesively bonded structures and to understand delamination failures.
Failure Analysis

The consultants at Veryst provide failure and root cause analyses using core engineering disciplines to evaluate different failure scenarios.  Engineering specialties we apply to failure analyses include: mechanical engineering, materials science (metallurgy, ceramics, polymer science, compo

Medical Devices
Veryst works with clients to develop high-performance, reliable, and manufacturable medical devices. We apply advanced characterization technologies, engineering analysis, and sophisticated simulation software to provide cost-effective solutions to time-critical engineering problems.
Polymer Analysis
Veryst provides expert services for product design, manufacturing processes, and failure analysis of polymeric components. Our expertise includes experimental characterization, computer modeling, and failure analysis. Our work is based on advanced characterization and physically-based computer models to solve industrial problems involving polymer systems.
Specialized Tools and Techniques
Veryst Engineering provides a variety of state-of-the-art characterization services, including Digital Image Correlation (DIC), high speed imaging, microscopy, and FTIR spectroscopy and microscopy for our clients.
Specimen Preparation
Veryst can create test samples from raw materials, choosing the specimen preparation method that is most suitable for our clients' material and application.

News item

Article published on MEMS failure mechanisms
Allyson Hartzell has just published a practical guide to “Avoid these common MEMS failure mechanisms” in an article on the EDN Network’s website.  The article provides specific and concrete advice for identifying and avoiding failure mechanisms, as well as helpful tips for system developers.
Veryst adds FTIR microscope to materials analysis lab

Veryst is excited to announce that we have expanded our materials analysis capabilities by adding a Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) microscope to our materials analysis lab.

Veryst continues to grow!
Veryst is happy to announce that Dr. Mark Oliver has joined our engineering team. Dr. Oliver has broad expertise in the structure and mechanical behavior of engineering materials. He has worked extensively on adhesive joints, materials interfaces, and thin films, with particular focus on the topics of fracture, fatigue, and delamination.
Veryst featured in article on plane engine failures
Dr. Stuart Brown provided insight in an article titled “The Hunt for Invisible Damage,” published in Digital Engineering 24/7. The article focused on metal fatigue fracture on the interior part of an engine fan blade, where it is invisible and undetectable when looking at it from the outside.

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