Failure modes describe the physical or chemical mechanisms that cause components and materials to degrade or stop functioning. These mechanisms include mechanical fatigue, electrical damage, thermal stress, material degradation, and chemical instability.
Understanding failure modes allows engineers and consumers to diagnose why products fail, predict potential reliability issues, and design systems that resist common breakdown patterns.
The articles in this section document the primary failure mechanisms observed in consumer products and mechanical systems.
Each page explains the physics behind the failure, the components most affected, and the environmental conditions that accelerate degradation.
