Boiler tube failures associated with material defects are often the result of poor quality control, whether in primary production, on-site fabrication, storage and handling, or installation. This chapter examines quality-related failures stemming from compositional and structural defects, forming and welding defects, design defects, improper cleaning methods, and ineffective maintenance. It also includes case studies and illustrations.

Casting quality and consistency need to be carefully controlled. This chapter discusses the procedures that describe the process and product quality controls. In addition, it provides information on quality assurance programs.

This chapter surveys both basic quality and basic reliability concepts as an introduction to the failure analysis professional. It begins with a section describing the distinction between quality and reliability and moves on to provide an overview of the concept of experiment design along with an example. The chapter then discusses the purposes of reliability engineering and introduces four basic statistical distribution functions useful in reliability engineering, namely normal, lognormal, exponential, and Weibull. It also provides information on three fundamental acceleration models used by reliability engineers: Arrhenius, Eyring, and power law models. The chapter concludes with information on failure rates and mechanisms and the two techniques for uncovering reliability issues, namely burn-in and outlier screening.

This chapter discusses quality control programs and procedures for induction heat-treating systems and includes related forms and checklists.

A successful heat treating operation is determined by the ability to satisfy the customer's quality requirements consistently and economically. This chapter reviews the steps that are important to produce quality parts in heat treating with a brief practical explanation of each. The steps include selecting proper material and design of the part being treated; determining whether the process is capable of heat treatment; using statistical process control, control charting, and in-process inspection and testing; and applying statistical quality control and final testing (sampling) to verify the results.

This chapter explains how metallography and hardness testing are used to evaluate the quality and condition of metal products. It also discusses the use of tensile testing, fracture toughness and impact testing, fatigue testing, and nondestructive test methods including ultrasonic, x-ray, and eddy current testing.

This chapter examines the microstructure of special bar quality (or engineering) steels and how it is influenced by carbon content, tempering temperature, and prior austenitic grain size. It explains how some of the changes are difficult to detect and require special etching and/or measurement techniques. It provides information on many types of engineering steel, including medium and high-carbon steels used in rail applications. It also examines the effect of nickel-phosphorus coatings on stainless steel and phosphate coatings used to reduce friction during thread rolling and other such procedures.

The aim of every extrusion plant is the efficient production of competitive products that meet the appropriate quality requirements. This chapter discusses the processes involved in the selection and introduction of a quality management system, along with its application, advantages, and disadvantages. It describes the process chain for order processing within the quality circle and provides information on product liability legal issues. In addition, the chapter discusses the processes involved in quality control, along with its organization, responsibilities, audits, and testing.

This chapter provides an introduction to statistical process control and the concept of total quality management. It begins with a review of quality improvement efforts in the extrusion industry and the considerations involved in developing sampling plans and interpreting control charts. It then lays out the steps that would be followed in order to implement statistical testing for billet casting, die performance, or any other process or variable that impacts extrusion quality. The chapter concludes with an overview of the fundamentals of total quality management.

This chapter provides an overview of key elements in controlling the casting process, systems to confirm the quality of outgoing components, and the steps needed to launch a novel product. The discussion also provides information on process control tools and techniques; incoming material control; process control of sand preparation and system maintenance; metallic charge materials; product quality control; and melting, metallurgical, and mechanical testing.