Engineering Troubleshooting - O'Donnell Consulting

Performing engineering troubleshooting services, including subsequent design solutions on operational issues – as thermal, corrosion, materials/ weld, vibration and fatigue on power and process equipment.

Quite often finite element analysis and/or computational fluid dynamics is implemented to determine the root cause and develop solutions. Our engineers keep you compliant to Codes including AWS, API and ASME – ensuring structural integrity, maximizing equipment reliability and controlling your costs.

Shown here is the failure of a splined clutch power transmission shaft. This macrophotograph at 7x shows a broken tooth with simultaneous fatigue initiation at the root radius of each side of the tooth. Reverse loading ultimately lead to fatigue fracture.

See Portfolio to read more of the projects we have worked on.
Failure Analysis on Transmission Gear
  • Recent Projects

  • Materials & Weld Engineering

    Our Engineering Team has the answers you need, based on over 30 years experience. We ensure continued reliable service through materials & weld testing and structural analysis.

    Mechanical testing provides ductility, strength, toughness, corrosion resistance, and fatigue properties of the as-fabricated materials – providing critical materials data in the prediction of when and how materials and assemblies will fail under various loading conditions.

    Our weld engineering services include joint analysis and procedure development and qualification, as well as investigating non-conformance and Code compliance – providing assistance to keep you in accordance with AWS, ASME and other relevant Engineering Codes. Whether your issues are operational related, or manufacturing related, give us a call – we may be able to assist.

    Examples Include:

    • Petrochemical
    • Transportation
    • Aerospace
    • Energy
    • Military
    • Steam Generators
    • Superheaters
    • Evaporators
    • Piping

    Metallurgical Evaluations

    Our engineering troubleshooting services include a full spectrum of metallurgical testing. This includes corrosion investigations, surface condition studies, mechanical and fracture mechanics testing. Read more about Metallurgy or Corrosion.

    • Chemical and Mechanical Analyses
    • Metallographic Examination
    • Fractography (SEM and TEM)
    • Accelerated Testing of Failure Modes
    • Corrosion Testing

    Fatigue/ Fracture Analysis

    We perform fatigue and fracture analysis – providing practical repair solutions to keep you fully operational.

    Fatigue is one of the key contributing factors to the degradation of aging components. Fatigue failures occur when these structures are subjected to (mechanical and/or thermal) cyclic stresses and strains over time. This leads to the development of micro-cracks in the most highly strained locations, which subsequently propagate until the component fails. Read Introduction to Fatigue.

    Fracture mechanics studies the propagation of cracks in materials and the material’s resistance to fracture. Analysis is done to determine residual strength in structures, develop recommended inspection cycles, and to determine repair urgency when new cracks are discovered in an existing system.

    Forensic Analysis

    Often, various technical issues may reach litigation. We provide forensic engineering services to predict how components have failed, developing results that are easily understood by Judges and Juries.

    Contact Tom O’Donnell to discuss your engineering challenges.

    Engineering Troubleshooting Related Links

    >> Weld Troubleshooting/ Consulting
    >> Materials/ Metallurgy Consulting
    >> Portfolio of Engineering/ Troubleshooting Projects
    >> Introduction to Fracture Mechanics
    >> Links to Engineering Resources

    Learn from the experience of others. Especially when one such “other” is Dr. William O’Donnell, PhD, PE, Founder and President of O’Donnell Consulting Engineers, Inc., and ASME “Engineer of the Year” – his 50 years of experience in analysis of components including fatigue and fracture safety evaluations and failure analyses are now comprised in this volume.

    If you are interested learning more in Engineering Design, Manufacturing and Construction, as well as Failure Analysis, then this book is a must have!

    $49.95*

    * Does not include shipping, handling or tax

    Book Cover Image of Handbook of Lessons Learned

    (412) 835-5007

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