Failure Analysis of a Fractured Stick End Casting: An ASM Materials Camp Investigation

Students attending ASM Materials Education Foundation camps are taught about and engage in a variety of materials science and engineering concepts—including failure analysis. As part of the weeklong camp, high school students perform failure analysis on actual fractured components and present their results at the end of the camp. In this case, the students of one group were tasked with determining the failure of a stick end from a commercial pasta drying system. This paper will detail their results, obtained by performing optical and electron microscopy, as well as chemical and mechanical testing. Their analysis determined that poor manufacturing practices and a lack of maintenance led to continued failure of these parts in service.