Failure Analysis
Definition
The forensic engineering discipline of determining the mechanism and cause of a structural, mechanical, or material failure, and assessing whether it resulted from design deficiency, manufacturing fault, material flaw, maintenance failure, or misuse.
Related terms
- Forensic Image
- A bit-for-bit verified copy of a storage medium, created using a write-blocker to prevent modification of the original. The copy is verified...
- Latent Fingerprint
- A fingerprint impression deposited by the transfer of sweat and oil from fingertip ridges that is not immediately visible to the naked...
- Questioned Document
- Any document whose authorship, authenticity, or content is in dispute. In forensic linguistics, the Ramsey ransom note is a canonical example: its...
- Toolmark
- The microscopic striations and impressions left on a softer material (a bullet, a cartridge case, a lock body) by contact with a...
- Write Blocker
- A hardware or software device interposed between a digital storage medium and the forensic workstation that prevents any write commands from reaching...
Explained in
- The Digital, Document and Engineering SciencesThe forensic engineering discipline of determining the mechanism and cause of a structural, mechanical, or material failure, and assessing whether it resulted...