Season's Greetings to you and your

colleagues

This issue of Storklink combines news and information from the industries we serve and from all of our laboratories from coast-to-coast. Thank you for your interest in Stork—your business makes our business possible. We look forward to serving you with accurate and efficient materials testing and inspection into the New Year and beyond.

Into the fold: Major acquisitions in 2005 and the view to 2006  New partners and expanded capabilities from the 2005 acquisitions. Read more... Virtual content in the material world: Technical articles, case studies, and white papers @ storksmt.com Read more about Stork's new online offerings. Quality alignment: SMT moves to a higher level of quality systems management  Read more about Stork's 2005 quality upgrades and modifications . . . and the changes to come.

LEAD ARTICLES Long branches and deep roots: What it means to be part of the Stork family COO Charles Noall explains the global network supporting your local laboratory. Read more...   One-Minute Materials News                   Concrete that bends and plastic that doesn't? Woolly underwear for your house and battery-powered paper? Click on the links for our pick of 2005's coolest materials science stories. Stork metallurgist wins NACE's Distinguished Service Award Read more about Senior Metallurgist Steve Suess. Stork SwL honored as first laboratory in the "FastTech 50"  Read more about Stork SwL's award for growth from Houston Business Journal. Eight reasons to do a failure analysis Read more about the benefits of finding out what went wrong—from an expert. New services, new capabilities: Dielectric testing  Read more about Stork's newest testing capability. Controlled burns: Stork doubles its flammability volume  Read more about the new flame chamber at Stork Twin City Testing.

A client's view of StorkView:

"I've been signed up for [StorkView] and accessed our information. Great Job! It's a terrific service and a faster way to getting our test results."

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^{ABOVE: Steve Suess of Stork Technimet honored by NACE.}

^{Failure analysis: if you don't know how it broke, you won't know how to fix it.}

^{To access a downloadable version of this white paper from Stork Herron Laboratories, click here.}

Why do a failure analysis? Eight reasons you should find out what went wrong.

What won't work: crossing your fingers, thinking happy thoughts, or wishing really, really hard.

While perfectly fine for bingo night, these are not helpful responses to a real problem with your product. Ignoring the root cause of a failure can have large and broad reaching repercussions. Even an isolated problem has ripple effects.

1. Immediate problem for your customer.
2. Scheduling delay for this and other customers.
3. Supply correction.
4. Production capacity adjustment.
5. Recall situation.
6. Back charges.
7. Reputation damage.
8. And the worst case scenario, litigation.

Failure analysis, conducted quickly and properly, can help keep the ripples in the lower numbers, but how do you know what to look for in a failure analysis?

Stork failure analysts typically investigate a failure in three different ways: fractography, evaluation of the material properties, and assessment of the circumstances of failure and the operating environment. In the majority of cases, using these techniques, Stork scientists can determine the root cause of failure and recommend corrections to prevent future failures.

Fractography is the descriptive treatment of fracture, especially in metals, with specific reference to photographs of the fracture surface. The most common evaluations performed during a full fractographic metallurgical failure analysis include visual examination, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, microanalysis, quantitative chemical analysis, and physical property testing , such as tensile testing and hardness determination.

Visual examinations are performed with both the unaided eye and with magnification provided by stereomicroscopes. These initial observations yield important information regarding the mode of failure and identifying suspect origins. Features such as the location of fracture or cracking relative to geometric features on the component give important information regarding the stress state of the component at the point of cracking. The appearance of the fracture, for example dull and fibrous appearing or reflective and faceted give indications of whether the fracture occurred in a brittle or ductile manner, as does the presence or absence of plastic deformation like necking at the fracture.  Other important features that are looked for during the examination include crack arrest marks, radial marks, and chevron pattern each of which help identify crack origins, the presence of corrosion deposits or oxidation which can indicate at what point in during the component’s process or service life the crack opened, and lastly the presence of mechanical damage or other evidence of outside influences.

Subsequent examination using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) provides high resolution imaging that often reveals fracture features characteristic of the particular failure mode present. Features such as dimples are characteristic of ductile overload, while multiple fine concentric lines or striations are typical of fatigue.  During this phase of the examination the investigator confirms the failure mode and takes a closer look at the suspect initiation areas to identify possible contributing factors, such as inclusions, oxidation, corrosion products, and mechanical damage. 

Semi-quantitative compositional analyses can also be performed at this point using Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). EDS takes advantage of the x-rays generated by the incident electron beam and provides a spectrum of the x-ray energies present.  This resulting spectrum, which resembles a histogram of sorts, reveals the relative amounts of elements present in the area being examined.  Because it is attached to a microscope, this technique allows for the analysis of very small particles, i.e., a grain of sand.  EDS is commonly used to analyze discolorations and stains on fractures, as well as corrosion deposits.

Microanalysis involves sectioning the sample and polishing the resultant specimen to mirror-like finish. Subsequent examination of the specimen is performed in both the as-polished and etched conditions. In the as-polished condition, the Stork scientist is looking for inclusions and discontinuities, such as porosity that might have contributed to cracking. Specimens are also examined for the presence of secondary cracks. Subsequent etching reveals the microstructure of the material which can be compared to the reported thermo-mechanical processing to confirm that the material was processed properly. It also reveals conditions that could contribute to cracking, such as decarburization or alpha case.

Chemical Analysis can confirm that a material is what it was supposed to be or identify an unknown substance; Physical Property Testing confirms or indicates the temper condition of material.

At the culmination of all testing, the investigator takes the data into account with the reported circumstances of failure and documents their findings in a written and photodocumented report. The more information that the investigator has available to them at this point regarding the circumstances of failure, the processing of the part, and history of the part (isolated or recurring problem, normal mode of failure) the easier it will be to pinpoint the root cause of failure. At this point, Stork investigators often begin a new project with the client—developing corrective actions to limit future instances of failure.

Stork's scientific teams include experts in polymers, corrosion, and paint systems. Our engineers come from industry and academia and have wide reaching experiences with multiple material If you're outsourcing for materials, consider outsourcing for testing, to validate the quality and composition of your purchases on the global market.

For more information about failure analysis and Stork Materials Technology laboratories that offer these services, contact info.smt@stork.com.

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Long branches and deep roots: Materials testing laboratories and the Stork family

A message from Charles Noall, Chief Operating Officer, Stork Materials Technology

Stork in the 21st century

A part of the European business community for more than 175 years, the Stork name has traveled far beyond the small Dutch town where C.T. Stork built his first factory. Our founder would not recognize many of the materials and technology in our product portfolio today, but we do business in much the same way as he did—focusing on service, innovation and engineering know-how. Today, Stork is a successful public corporation with annual sales in excess of $2 billion, operating globally in the aerospace, engineering services, oil and gas, printing and food processing industries. Materials testing has been a Stork group service for over 100 years, having grown out of Stork’s own in-house testing laboratory in Amsterdam, The Netherlands into a thriving global network.

Far-reaching branches 

Stork Materials Technology is one of the largest networks of testing laboratories in the world. More than 600 scientists, engineers and technicians work in 20 locations across North America and Europe and support clients from every imaginable industry, including: aerospace, oil and gas, power generation, medical and pharmaceutical, construction, machine manufacturing, and automotive. We have the resources and expertise to offer unequalled capability for testing and analyzing metals, composites, and polymers, as well as a wide range of construction materials. In addition, our facilities are equipped with the latest testing equipment and workflow systems. We're well aware of the needs of our clients to obtain fast and accurate test data. Our groundbreaking StorkView internet portal, for example, makes it possible for our clients to view and download test results and certifications instantly and securely.

Deep roots

Stork began building the American materials testing network over a decade ago, and as you'll learn in the article on recent acquisitions, two nondestructive laboratories became part of the SMT network just this summer in California. But our materials testing expertise is not new, nor is it imported. The Cleveland and Charlotte facilities have provided testing in their community for almost 100 years; Stork Twin City Testing in St. Paul was founded in 1938,  Des Moines in 1912. Stork MMA in Pennsylvania and Stork Technimet in Wisconsin both have over two decades of failure analysis, polymer science and other materials expertise. As these individual facilities become part of SMT worldwide, we all learn and benefit from each other's knowledge and experience.

Stork labs in the U.S. and Europe specialize in building customized testing programs designed to fulfill clients' internal and external specifications. Whatever (and wherever) you need testing, we look forward to supporting you. Please do not hesitate to call on the experts at Stork.

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^{ABOVE: Dielectric insulator testing at Stork Technimet.}

New services, new capabilities: Dielectric testing at Stork Technimet

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StorkView Landmark: Over 1500 clients receiving critical test results through secure online portal

Stork Materials Technology hit a milestone this summer as StorkView subscribers in the United States climbed past 1500. In a typical week, Stork clients log on to the web-based portal over 5000 times to monitor jobs status, view test results, and download certifications and reports.

"Our role is to ensure that our clients receive their test data in the shortest time possible," says Mark Jonus, Senior Vice President of Stork Materials Technology. "StorkView greatly reduces time spent waiting for paper certifications and reports to arrive. Our manufacturing clients absolutely rely on the fast results to keep their scheduled production moving. StorkView is simple to administer, very easy to use—and totally secure."

Stork Materials Technology was one of the first nationwide materials testing laboratory networks to successfully implement a LIMS system (Laboratory Information Management Systems) with a fully functional online client portal. Test data is sorted and organized through LabMan software, and the results automatically upload into logs, certifications, and reports, which clients can retrieve from their desktop through the Internet within seconds of a test’s completion.

Since StorkView’s debut, client/users have registered from many different industry sectors, benefiting from these and other features:  

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^{ABOVE: "FastTech 50" Award, presented to Stork SwL in November.}

Stork SwL first laboratory in the "FastTech 50"

The Houston Business Journal announced this fall that Stork Southwestern Laboratories is among the region's "top 50 companies that have experienced the greatest percentage of revenue growth," and honored the laboratory with its business peers at an awards luncheon on Friday, November 4, 2005. Stork SwL's tremendous growth rate in 2004 led to its ranking of 46th in the list. The winners were also announced in the Fast Tech 50 Special Section of the Houston Business Journal published on Friday, November 4th and handed out at the event.

"I'm very excited and honored," was the reaction from J. Doehring, Stork SWL Chief Operating Officer. "This is not only a first for us, it's also the first time any type of laboratory has gotten in the top 50. It will mean a great deal of attention for the company and our staff in Houston, Texas City and Beaumont, and I think it's well-deserved. After all the hardships and hurricanes this fall, we especially appreciate this recognition of our successes."

 For more information about Stork SwL, click here.

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Quality alignment: SMT moves to a higher level of quality systems management

The end of 2005 wraps up a 12-month, 12-location quality upgrade for Stork Materials Technology. Sam Jackins, SMT's Director of Quality for North America, spent the year consulting with managers and quality personnel from each laboratory to improve standardization and integration across the U.S. testing network.

"A great quality program isn't easy to achieve," says Jackins from his office in Charlotte. "Every location had a working quality program, but we needed to connect them to each other and build a seamless national system—and also connect the U.S. system to certain European standards. To help with these goals, we've hired permanent employees whose jobs are to administer the laboratory's quality systems and programs. As the world gets smaller, it's important that we continually update and align our quality program to more and more standards. I'm proud to say that this year we've  been able achieve unparalled continuity."

All system and business procedures are now the same at all locations, allowing our clients to send jobs to more than one location, without worrying about an approvals or accreditation gap. Adds Jackins,"By the end of June 2006, each lab will have put into place and implemented new Quality Control Manuals, meeting the requirements of all Stork customers."

Four labs which are approved for Nadcap accreditation achieved recertification in 2005 maintaining their ability to perform testing and inspection for the aircraft industry. All 9 locations with A2LA accreditation continue to maintain their certificates as well.

Quality questions? Contact info.smt@stork.com to learn more.

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