Reader Notes: Interfacial Degradation Mechanisms Edge Cases
Two failures happened last quarter at the same plant. One gasket softened and swelled after prolonged chemical exposure. Another metal-composite bond cracked under cyclic loading, seemingly overnight. Both were labeled 'interfacial degradation.' Both got the same adhesive. Neither fix lasted. The problem? They were different diseases on different clocks. Why the Two Clocks Matter The cost of misdiagnosis in field failures Two coatings on the same steel beam failed last winter. One peeled in long, brittle strips. The other blistered into rounded mounds. The maintenance crew treated both the same way—scrape, patch, recoat. Three months later, both spots failed again. That's what happens when you fix the symptom without asking which clock is ticking. Chemical attack and mechanical fatigue look alike at the end. Cracks, delamination, lost adhesion. But the paths to those endpoints are different animals. One eats the interface molecule by molecule.