Thielsch Engineering has a multi-disciplined team of knowledgeable forensic engineers, who are experienced in performing on-site investigations into the root cause of failures as well as any possible contributing factors to industrial accidents, complex failures, and catastrophic explosions.

The failure modes we investigate often include fatigue, fracture, creep, corrosion, erosion, low-quality welds, wear, improper material selection, poor design or improper maintenance.

Additionally, Thielsch Engineering operates a full-service, independent, metallurgical and mechanical testing laboratory that is A2LA accredited and capable of performing all tests in accordance with ASTM, ANSI, MIL-Spec, and ISO specifications.

Thielsch metallographers are highly trained technicians with extensive experience in sample preparation and categorization of materials. The laboratory’s capabilities include photography, sample mounting and preparation, metallography at magnifications up to 2000X, hardness and thickness measurements, and metallurgical evaluations.

All materials are evaluated using Optical and Scanning Electron microscopic equipment with the latest technology. The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) performs surface analysis and imaging of fracture surfaces, while the Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) provides chemical analysis of very small particles.

Our Mechanical Testing department is well equipped to determine the compliance of materials to applicable standards and specifications. These tests can be used to perform failure analyses and condition assessments or to confirm quality assurance in the manufacturing industry. Our mechanical testing laboratory is accompanied by a full machine shop. Testing capabilities include:

• Tensile Testing
• Yield Strength
• Compression Testing
• Fatigue Testing
• Impact Testing
• Bend Testing
• Creep/Stress Rupture Testing
• Hardness Testing
• Corrosion Testing
• Hydrogen Embrittlement
• Elongation
• Salt Spray