Knott Laboratory provides forensic engineering and animation, Civil & Structural, and Fire & Explosion Investigation services to reconstruct accidents.

Hank Mowry Presents at 2024 ASM International IMAT Conference

Knott Laboratory Engineering Manager, Henry “Hank” Mowry, PE, DFE, recently presented at the 2024 ASM International Materials, Applications & Technologies Conference in Cleveland, OH.

Hank’s presentation was selected for the “Fasteners and Failures” technical session, part of the FAS (Failure Analysis Society) committee.

Abstract

Failure Analysis of a Bolted Connection Resulting in Personal Injury

The presentation features the evaluation of the failure of a bolted connection for an explosion-proof enclosure that resulted in personal injury and subsequent litigation.

An individual was injured after attempting to start a piece of heavy machinery. An arc-flash occurred within an enclosure that ejected the cover. During the investigation, multiple engineers were involved. The majority of the engineers attempted to determine why the arc-flash event occurred; however, what resulted in the injury was the ejection of the cover of the enclosure due to the failed bolted connection.

Mr. Mowry discusses how it was determined that the connection failed, the physical evidence, the analysis, the materials involved, the UL testing for the enclosure, comparison to other manufacturer’s products, and ultimately the determination of the cause of the incident.