Our diverse range of skills and expertise spans across material failures, chemistry and contamination to plant pathology. We can identify why a material failed, how an incident occurred and determine root cause such as human error, a design or manufacturing flaw, poor material specifications or process implementation.
1: CHEMISTRY
Chemistry is an integral part of modern life, both in the commercial and domestic world. Given the ubiquitous involvement of chemistry in our lives, there are often questions that can arise which require expertise in chemistry, such as understanding the fate of chemicals in the environment, uncontrolled exposure or release and chemical regulations.
Resolution of queries, disputes or other legal proceedings when such events have occurred requires expert chemistry knowledge and specific application of that knowledge in a manner that is relevant to legal representatives, insurance companies and other potentially non-expert audiences.
At Hawkins, our chemical experts have experience in many aspects of chemistry, including analytical, organic, inorganic and physical chemistry. We work with companies, legal representatives, loss adjusters and insurers to provide our expert advice for the Courts or other forums. We work with insurers and businesses to support assessments of liability, oversee remediation and provide expert opinion. Hawkins’ chemical experts have been engaged on a wide range of matters, from personal injuries and insurance damage claims to liability claims and marine cargo incidents.
2: COMPOSITE
A composite material is any multicomponent material that contains two or more distinct constituents or phases, i.e. it is made from a combination of two or more different types of constituent material. Perhaps the most familiar examples in modern engineering are glass or carbon fibre reinforced plastic (GFRP or CFRP).
Whilst ubiquitous in nature, the application of engineered composite materials has become increasingly more widespread since the mid-20th century. More recently, rather than being limited primarily to the aerospace and marine industries, composite materials have found uses in all manner of everyday applications in a variety of domestic, commercial and industrial settings. Typically, they are still used in components that require high strength and rigidity, but with minimal weight, although in recent years they have also become increasingly popular for their aesthetic properties.
The purpose of a composite material is to optimise the individual component properties by the process of combination. For example, in GFRP and CFRP, high-strength fibres are combined in plastic matrices to create a strong, lightweight engineering ‘composite’ material. These materials are now commonly used in the automotive and marine sectors, but also in applications such as pipework, sporting equipment (e.g. bicycle parts and tennis racquet frames) and increasingly so, medical prosthetics, athlete’s running blades being probably one of the best-known examples.
COMPOSITE MATERIALS FAILURES
Even the most technologically advanced materials can fail, whether through environmental effects, poor design, or manufacture, or due to extraordinary and unforeseen events. The sudden and unexpected failure of a composite material can, and often does have catastrophic results, such as the collapse of fork on a bicycle or the rupture of a pressure vessel. When investigating the failure of a composite material it is important to understand why that particular material was chosen in the first instance, how the different component parts have been, or should have been combined to maximise the resultant properties of the material, and how those components are likely to behave in the chosen application and environment.
If you are dealing with the failure of a component or a structure made from a composite material, you want to know what has caused it and how to prevent the same thing from happening again in the future, you need a forensic investigator. Hawkins can provide an expert who is familiar with all aspects of a case and can offer clarity and answers to your questions.
.3: CONCRETE AND AGGREGATE
Concretes, screeds and aggregates are the backbone of the building industry. Without these materials many structures simply could not be built. Yet the failure of these can have catastrophic consequences, jeopardising the safety and reliability of structures.
By taking samples or cores from buildings, Hawkins can help to identify what is happening and why degradation is occurring. Normally concrete elements are reinforced with steel bars or fibres and Hawkins can investigate the failure or corrosion of these components.
4: PLASTICS AND POLYMER
Polymers, or plastics as they are more commonly known, are used in all aspects of modern-day life: from pipework to paint coatings, textile fibres to automotive components and adhesives to hot water bottles. Plastics are imbedded into our way of life, and failure of these materials can lead to personal injury, escapes of water, loss of earnings, to name just a few outcomes.
Whilst plastics are extremely versatile, they are not without their limitations, and our materials engineers and scientists have an in-depth knowledge of how plastics “work”. We have experience in how plastics are designed and processed, and how environmental and installation conditions can affect how well these materials are able to do their job.
Our experts can help provide insight into material selection and testing, failure analysis, as well as a thorough understanding of the relevant guidance and standards that have, or should have, been used.