Coil springs are a common part we utilize daily, from mattresses to automobiles these helical-shaped mechanical devices are essential components in a variety off applications. For vehicles, coil springs are a vital part of the suspension system, dampening vibration and improving vehicle control and breaking. Susceptible to breakage, coil springs must be put through vigorous performance testing to ensure they’re fit for market. Contrarily, these components may break in-service and an investigation to report possible causes and future preventative actions needs to take place. In most cases an accredited independent materials testing laboratory will be asked to conduct these services.
When a premature failure occurs during testing or a catastrophic failure occurs on a vehicle in service, a metallurgical investigation is critical to determine the root cause of failure. First, the failure initiation site must be accurately identified, or the root cause cannot be determined. The investigator must determine if a pre-existing material flaw was present in the original supplied material, such as a large steelmaking inclusion that can contribute to premature fatigue failure. Or did significant mechanical damage occur on the spring surface during the manufacturing process or during service. Verification of the spring’s metallurgical properties also needs to be performed to ensure no other factors contributed to the failure.
Our accredited metallurgical laboratory verifies chemical, mechanical, and metallurgical testing for the automotive industry and its suppliers so they can make informed decisions on a material’s safety, compliance and application appropriateness.
SGS MSi’s has more than 30 years of experience investigating failures, our failure analysis laboratory use state-of-the-art instrumentation, microscopy analysis and other tools to perform the proper analysis to develop sound conclusions in their reports. Our experienced professional engineers, scientist and technical experts have defined a first-rate process for investigation reporting.
If you’d like to learn more about our metallurgical testing, failure prevention or failure analysis services please contact us today.