Elizabeth C. Buc, PhD, PE, CFI
\nFire and Materials Research Laboratory, LLC, USA<\/p>\n
Presented at International Symposium on Fire Investigation<\/a>, 2012<\/p>\n ABSTRACT<\/p>\n NFPA 921 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations recognizes the need for specialists for certain\u00a0aspects of fire cause investigations. One such area is metallurgical failure analysis. Examples of metallurgical\u00a0aspects that overlap the fire investigation field include vessel and pipeline failures from corrosion or welded joint\u00a0failures causing loss of containment (i.e., natural gas); wear and mechanical breaks or failures that generate sparks\u00a0or frictional heating that cause ignition; and elucidation of heat or fire versus electrical arc damage to current\u00a0carrying components, such as conductors, motor windings, contacts, and fuses. Equally important, metallurgy can be\u00a0used to determine the effects of fire on low-melting temperature alloys, such as brass and brazed joints, to determine\u00a0when damage occurred and if it contributed to the cause of a fire or was a result of fire exposure. Like fire\u00a0investigation, metallurgical root-cause failure analyses are performed according to a recognized professional\u00a0standard methodology that meets the criteria for admissibility. Here, key elements of a metallurgical-based failure\u00a0analysis are highlighted with specific metallurgical-based fire cause investigation case studies.<\/p>\n Download the complete paper<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Elizabeth C. Buc, PhD, PE, CFI Fire and Materials Research Laboratory, LLC, USA Presented at International Symposium on Fire Investigation, 2012 ABSTRACT NFPA 921 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations recognizes the need for specialists for certain\u00a0aspects of fire cause investigations. One such area is metallurgical failure analysis. Examples of metallurgical\u00a0aspects that overlap the fire … Continue reading Metallurgy and Fire Investigation<\/span>