Failure Analysis Education & Training
Grow your career or accelerate your team’s impact with training from ASM International.
Learn from industry experts in a variety of formats that suit your budget, schedule, and preferred learning style.
Instructor-Led Courses
Hands-on learning that takes place in-person at ASM headquarters in our state-of-the-art training labs and classrooms, or virtually through direct interaction with an expert ASM instructor without needing to travel!
Self-Study Courses
Online education courses which allow you to learn at your own pace in an independent study format.
Digital Short Courses
Shorter format, typically completed in ~2 hours, which offer visual guides, animations, and interactive quizzes.
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Certificate Programs
Learning is a lifelong process. Completing a certificate program advances your knowledge while increasing your value to your company.
Note: As an IACET Accredited Provider, ASM International offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard.
Instructor-Led Courses
Principles of Failure Analysis in Engineering Components
This course offers a practical foundation in failure analysis, with a focus on fasteners, shafts, and bearings—three widely used engineering component groups. It is designed for technicians, engineers, and professionals who are new to failure analysis or seeking to strengthen their skills.
Topics include general procedures and best practices, key failure mechanisms such as fatigue and corrosion, and the influence of material properties, manufacturing methods, and service conditions on failure behavior. The course also includes how to plan and conduct a failure analysis investigation and how to interpret findings to support corrective and preventative actions. Case studies are used throughout to highlight real-world applications and common failure mechanisms.
Corrosion
Corrosion affects every industry—from automotive and aerospace to infrastructure, petroleum, pharmaceuticals, and beyond—and is costly, dangerous, wasteful, and unsightly. Yet corrosion can be predicted, controlled, and often prevented with the right knowledge. This comprehensive course covers the eight major forms of corrosion along with proven monitoring, prediction, and control techniques applicable to all metals. The emphasis throughout is on practical applications for solving real-world industrial corrosion problems.
Unfortunately, a virtual option is not currently offered, but please click below to share your interest and help inform our course development efforts!
Fractography
This course is designed for a broad cross-section of failure analysis practitioners. Failure analysis principles, tools and mechanisms are covered in detail. In addition, the practical aspects and importance of considering the failed part, the material of construction and the failure circumstances in combination is stressed. Emphasis is placed on learning the macroscopic failure modes and correlation of these observations with microscopic fracture surface features. The salient points are illustrated with case histories. Course attendees are also encouraged to bring case histories to share in an interactive manner.
Unfortunately, a virtual option is not currently offered, but please click below to share your interest and help inform our course development efforts!
How to Organize and Run a Failure Investigation
You will learn a proven systematic approach to failure investigation, which utilizes examples from the aerospace industry and teaches the steps you need to follow. The effect of various failure sources, such as corrosion, on the organization of the investigation will be analyzed. It will provide a learning platform for engineers from all disciplines; materials, design, manufacturing, quality, and management.
Unfortunately, an in-person option is not currently offered, but please click below to share your interest and help inform our course development efforts!
Metallography for Failure Analysis
This practical lab course focuses on metallographic techniques of failure analysis and will take you through the process of initial visual examination, fracture cleaning, documentation, and unusual metallographic sample preparation techniques and metallographic interpretation of various failure modes. You are encouraged to bring your own samples to prepare. Samples of various failure modes will also be provided.
Unfortunately, a virtual option is not currently offered, but please click below to share your interest and help inform our course development efforts!
Practical Fractography
This comprehensive 2-day course provides practical application of fractography through lectures and visual examination of failed components. Students will apply these concepts by inspecting actual fracture specimens, building competency in analyzing real-world failures. Students will develop skills to apply proper examination procedures, interpret fracture surfaces, identify failure origins and mechanisms, and analyze fractures across different materials including plastics, metals, castings, and powder metals.
Practical Heat Treating
Principles of Failure Analysis, 3 Days
This lecture course is designed to provide the knowledge to bridge the gap between theory and practice of failure analysis. This course presents a very practical approach to failure analysis for those who are new to the field or those who want an update. It is also designed for technicians with the pre-requisites and those interested in understanding how knowledge of failure analysis can lead to better productivity. Causes of fractures are explained with diagrams of stress application and distribution. Many case histories of failures and their elimination are highlighted throughout the course.
Unfortunately, an in-person option is not currently offered, but please click below to share your interest and help inform our course development efforts!
Principles of Failure Analysis, 4 days
This lecture course is designed to provide the knowledge to bridge the gap between theory and practice of failure analysis. This course presents a very practical approach to failure analysis for those who are new to the field or those who want an update. It is also designed for technicians with the pre-requisites and those interested in understanding how knowledge of failure analysis can lead to better productivity. Causes of fractures are explained with diagrams of stress application and distribution. Many case histories of failures and their elimination are highlighted throughout the course.
Unfortunately, a virtual option is not currently offered, but please click below to share your interest and help inform our course development efforts!
Self-Study Courses
Component Failure Analysis
This course focuses on the practical materials and processing knowledge necessary to perform failure analysis on these widely used component groups. The course materials and instruction will provide insight into the manufacturing of components, circumstances resulting in degradation, and diagnostic features for failure analysis and prevention.
Corrosion
Corrosion affects every industry—from automotive and aerospace to infrastructure, petroleum, pharmaceuticals, and beyond—and is costly, dangerous, wasteful, and unsightly. Yet corrosion can be predicted, controlled, and often prevented with the right knowledge. This course covers the eight major forms of corrosion along with proven monitoring, prediction, and control techniques applicable to all metals.
Fundamentals of Non-Destructive Testing
Study valuable NDT techniques outlined by industry experts on your own time and at your own pace with ASM’s “Fundamentals of Nondestructive Testing.” Nondestructive Testing (NDT) is a vital part of material evaluation that can save users time and money in product assessment, troubleshooting, and research.
Heat Treating Quality and Inspection
This course is designed to increase the technical knowledge of those involved in the heat treatment of metals and alloys. Emphasis is on process control and quality control inspection procedures, since both are necessary to provide heat treated products to meet industry standards and specifications.
How to Organize and Run a Failure Investigation
Have you ever been handed a failure investigation and were not quite sure all the steps required to complete the investigation? The initial steps of a failure investigation set the direction and, in many cases, ensure a successful investigation or doom it to failure. Here is a chance to learn the steps to organize a failure investigation and ensure success.
Medical Device Design Validation and Failure Analysis
This course provides students with a fundamental understanding of the design process necessary to make robust medical devices.
Practical Heat Treating
Practical Heat Treating teaches the actual heat treating process or the “how” of heat treating, as compared to “Heat Treatment of Steel” and “Principles of Heat Treating” which are intended to impart the fundamental metallurgical knowledge of what happens when metals are heated and cooled or the “why” of heat treatment.
Principles of Failure Analysis
This course is designed to provide the knowledge to bridge the gap between theory and practice of failure analysis. This course presents a very practical approach to failure analysis for those who are new to the field or those who want an update. It is also designed for technicians with the pre-requisites and those interested in understanding how knowledge of failure analysis can lead to better productivity.
Welding Inspection and Quality Control
This course addresses all the aspects that are critical to understanding this demanding area; it contains the technical information that the personnel in this area must know to perform their jobs properly.
Digital Short Courses
Corrosion Prevention
This focused digital short course delivers fundamental knowledge of corrosion prevention principles and techniques. The course teaches the basic principles of corrosion prevention, including corrosion-control design considerations, material selection processes, and protective methods such as coatings, inhibitors, and cathodic protection. Detailed illustrations, narration, and knowledge assessments support learning throughout the course.
Corrosion Testing and Monitoring
This self-guided course provides essential knowledge of corrosion testing and monitoring techniques. Corrosion testing and monitoring are powerful tools in the fight to control corrosion. The course addresses techniques for corrosion testing and monitoring, as well as diagnosing corrosion failures. Content includes laboratory and field testing methods, electrochemical testing procedures, specimen preparation requirements, and monitoring systems. Technical visuals, narrated animations, demonstration videos, and interactive quizzes reinforce learning throughout the course.
Failure Analysis: Ductile and Brittle Fracture
This self-guided course focuses on the macroscale and microscale features associated with ductile and brittle fractures, utilizing helpful visuals, narrated animations, and interactive quizzes. Adapted from the ASM education course Principles of Failure Analysis, Lesson 3: Ductile and Brittle Fracture, this digital course provides a comprehensive understanding of fracture mechanisms.
Failure Analysis: Fatigue Failures
This self-guided digital short course uses helpful visuals, narrated animations, and interactive quizzes to teach fatigue failure, fracture due to cyclic stresses or strains below the tensile strength. Fatigue is among the most common causes of failure. Fatigue failure occurs because loading conditions are too severe, the component geometry is inappropriate, or the material or material condition is inappropriate.
Types of Corrosion
This digital short course provides essential knowledge for identifying, preventing, and predicting corrosion in metals and alloys. The course explores the major corrosion processes observed across all industries and examines real-world corrosion case studies from different industrial applications. Content features detailed illustrations, narrated explanations of corrosion mechanisms, demonstration videos, and interactive quizzes.