Steel fails for a small number of reasons, and almost always tells the story of why it failed if you know how to read it. My practice exists to read those stories — for engineers asked to fix what broke, for counsel preparing a case, and for owners considering whether to repair or replace.
I hold a doctorate in metallurgical and materials engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, under Prof. Suveen Mathaudhu. The dissertation, Property Enhancement of Ferrium® M54® Through Novel Processing, examined gradient microstructures in ultra-high-strength steel via accumulative skin-pass rolling — aerospace-class strength and toughness through processing alone. That work, and the multi-modal characterisation stack it demanded, sit underneath every engagement I take on now.
Engagements typically begin with a phone call and a few photographs, and end with a written report suitable for engineering review or litigation — built from sectioning, fractography, SEM/EDS, hardness mapping, XRD, and chemistry, presented in plain language.