MME Case Studies:  Water Heater Failure Investigation

A commercial water heater failed in service in a high-rise office building. The resulting water leak led to widespread electrical and mechanical failures to the building’s elevator system. Allegations of faulty installation of the water heater and thermal expansion tank as the root cause of the leak were made by several parties to the claim.

Mechanical, metallurgical, and welding engineers from MME analyzed the failure, and performed extensive testing, experimental stress analysis, and fatigue crack initiation and growth analysis.
 

Based on the results of MME’s evaluations, it was determined that the cause of the water heater failure was an unacceptable repair weld that had been made to the steel shell of the water heater.