{"id":4022,"date":"2022-06-24T07:25:35","date_gmt":"2022-06-24T07:25:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawkins.salttest.co\/?page_id=4022"},"modified":"2025-08-12T17:05:25","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T16:05:25","slug":"metallurgy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.hawkins.biz\/forensic-investigation\/materials-chemistry-biology\/metallurgy\/","title":{"rendered":"Metallurgy"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Metallurgy<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Losses involving metallurgical failures occur in a wide range of industrial and domestic environments and can lead to high value claims or even loss of life.<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Incidents might involve structural collapses or mechanical failures that result from corrosion, fracture, wear or deformation (bending\/buckling) of metallic parts. Such catastrophic failures sometimes result from problems in the manufacture of the parts or from the inappropriate selection of a particular material (which is itself well made) for the job in hand.<\/p>

The use of metals is widespread, from structural steels in welded fabrications, to copper electrical wires, brass plumbing fittings, or extruded aluminium ladders. Metallurgy is the understanding of metals and alloys, their performance, and the ways they fail – each type of metal behaves differently at high or low temperatures, and can corrode or crack under certain conditions.\u00a0<\/p>

Metallurgists at Hawkins identify what has caused metal to fail and why, using a combined understanding of the chemistry and microscopic crystal structure of alloys along with the large-scale failure modes of metallic components. We can investigate such failures by carrying out detailed inspections of the components and considering the environment and the application, in order to differentiate between issues such as defective machinery, operating errors, poor maintenance and other external causes.<\/p>

Having our own laboratories and equipment means that we can complete specialised testing of metallic components to establish the true nature of the failure (for instance whether a fracture was instantaneous or gradual), which might have implications for policy coverage.\u00a0<\/p>

We use well established metallurgical techniques to discover whether a component was specified or made as it should have been, in order to provide options for recovery and to understand ongoing risk considerations.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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WHY APPOINT A FORENSIC INVESTIGATOR?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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We have the technical knowledge and experience to tell you why<\/em> a metallurgical failure or catastrophic incident occurred, not just what caused it.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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While it may seem evident that a metal has cracked, corroded or broken, appointing a forensic metallurgist will help identify whether the alloy composition was suitable for the application, whether the environmental conditions contributed to the cracking, or if damage occurred when a component was installed or welded for example.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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