Fracture analysis of forks of a heavy duty lift truck

The fracture of the two forks of a heavy duty lift truck in operation at a harbour is described and discussed. The failure analysis included: mechanic al tests for characterisation of the material, including tensile and Charpy tests; the study of a previous repair by welding carried out in one of the forks and the identification of consequential weld defects; the detection of fatigue cracks in the other fork; detailed metalographical analysis; str ess analysis using the finite element method; and fracture mechanics and pl astic collapse analyses. This case study illustrates the methodology for fa ilure analysis, through systematic and sequential consideration of the evid ence, generation of data, and use of models of behaviour. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.