Mechanical Engineering
Our mechanical engineering team investigates failures of mechanical systems and materials used in residential, commercial and industrial applications. Their work often includes making an assessment of the extent to which the failure may have been impacted by how the product or equipment was utilized and maintained. When a failure involves a personal injury, their knowledge of how materials (metals, ceramics, glass and plastics) react in different situations and over time, can be critical to understanding the failure mechanism and its impact on the injury.
Examples of typical mechanical engineering investigations include: pipe, valve and vessel ruptures, material corrosion, manufacturing tolerance issues, engine failure, furnace, boiler and HVAC malfunctions and vehicle damage.
Vessel, Pipe and Valve Ruptures
These failures can occur in residential and industrial systems and cover a myriad of situations. Flooding and the resultant damage is a common outcome of residential pipe bursts and valve malfunctions. These can arise from an over-tightened clamp on a toilet, pipes frozen during a cold snap, unmaintained shut-off valves and old or incorrectly installed household appliances such as dishwashers.
In multi-residential, commercial, institutional and industrial applications, fuel tanks, high pressure pipelines, sprinkler systems, boilers and heat exchangers are common sources of leaks. In these situations, environmental considerations arise when the storage system is being used for fuel, grease or chemical contaminants.
Mechanical System & Component Failures
This section applies to “systems” such as heating, cooling, refrigeration, and ventilation systems along with the components that comprise those systems. Analyzing how a system has failed requires knowledge not only of the system itself but also requires an understanding of how it was operated and maintained along with the environment in which it was used.
As a result, when breakdowns occur, it is likely that there were a series of interrelated events rather than one random catastrophic event that caused the failure. Since many systems utilize electronics to control the mechanical process, our mechanical engineers work closely with their electrical engineering counterparts during their forensic investigations.
Equipment & Product Failures
Failures can occur in a wide variety of equipment or products; everything from highly specialized food processing technology and commercial lawn care equipment, to household appliances, recreational equipment and construction equipment.
Investigating these occurrences is necessary to establish liability for insurance coverage & litigation purposes and in cases where there has been a personal injury or death.
Materials / Metallurgical Analysis
A thorough and complete analysis of many investigative situations often calls for an intimate understanding of the behaviour of materials. Arcon’s engineers employ their extensive knowledge of the properties and behaviours of materials to establish causality links between the underlying materials and the overall product failure.
Collision Damage
The knowledge of how materials behave under impact is extremely useful when determining whether the damage from a vehicle impact is consistent with the dynamics of the collision as described by claimants and witnesses. With insurance fraud being an ever-present temptation for individuals and organized gangs, Arcon’s expertise in analyzing vehicle damage from impacts is an important tool for insurers.
