Failure Analysis of Open End Wrenches Containing Forging Defects
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Published:2019
Abstract
A maintenance worker was injured when his 3/4 in. (19 mm) open-ended wrench failed, fracturing in overload fashion along the jaw. The failed wrench was unavailable for testing, but an identical one that failed in the same manner was acquired and subjected to hardness, chemistry, SEM, and metallurgical analyses. SEM imaging revealed microvoid coalescence within the fracture zone. The microvoids were flat and smooth edged indicating insufficient bonding. In addition, a cross sectional sample, mounted and etched using alkaline chromate, revealed an oxygen-rich zone in the jaw. It was concluded that the failures stemmed from forging laps in the jaw that broaching failed to remove.
Hans C. Iwand, Jacob A. Wagner, Failure Analysis of Open End Wrenches Containing Forging Defects, Handbook of Case Histories in Failure Analysis, Vol 3, Edited By Larry Berardinis, ASM International, 2019, p 233–237, https://doi.org/10.31399/asm.fach.v03.c9001785
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