MADE 3.9.1 User Manual > Modelling > Failure Diagram > Failure Concepts
Faults
| Category | Name (Fault) | Name (Incipient Fault) | Synonyms | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulk change | Delaminated | Delaminating | - | Separated into layers. |
| Bulk change | Fractured | Fracturing | - | A crack has entirely traversed an item and the item is completely separated into parts or fragmented. |
| Bulk change | Cracked | Cracking | - | A crack propagated part-way through the item. |
| Bulk change | Voids | Voiding | - | Empty spaces in the bulk of material. |
| Chemical connection | Chemically reactivity decreased | Chemically reactivity decreasing | - | The chemical property of an item is changed, and it is chemically reactive with another item, or its reactivity has been decreased. |
| Chemical connection | Chemically reactivity increased | Chemically reactivity increasing | - | The chemical property of an item is changed, and it is chemically reactive with another item, or its reactivity has been increased. |
| Chemical property | Contaminated | Contamination increasing | - | Item contains inclusions consisting of a different material phase or a different material. |
| Chemical property | Decomposed | Decomposing | - | The chemical composition of item is changed, and it now consists of two different phases or types of material. |
| Chemical property | Sublimated | Sublimating | - | The state of an item has changed from solid to gas. |
| Electrical connection | Open circuit | Circuit breaking | - | The clearance between two items is increased, or a foreign object provides insulation, preventing the exchange of electrical energy between them. |
| Electrical connection | Property mismatch | Property mismatching | - | The electrical property of one item has changed, and is electrically reactive with another item. |
| Electrical connection | Short circuit | Circuit shorting | - | The electrical property of one item has changed, and is electrically reactive with another item. |
| Electrical property | Capacitance decreased | Capacitance decreasing | - | The electrical capacitance of an item is decreased. |
| Electrical property | Capacitance increased | Capacitance increasing | - | The electrical capacitance of an item is increased. |
| Electrical property | Conductivity decreased | Conductivity decreasing | - | The electrical conductivity of an item is decreased. |
| Electrical property | Conductivity increased | Conductivity increasing | - | The electrical conductivity of an item is increased. |
| Electrical property | Corrupted Signal | Signal Corrupting | - | The signal has had information damaged. |
| Electrical property | Distorted Signal | Signal Distorting | Degraded, Noise | The signal waveform has been altered from its original shape. |
| Electrical property | Decreased dielectric strength | Dielectric strength decreasing | - | The dielectric strength of an item is decreased. |
| Electrical property | Increased dielectric strength | Dielectric strength increasing | - | The dielectric strength of an item is increased. |
| Electrical property | Electrical potential decreased | Electrical potential decreasing | - | The electrical potential of an item is decreased. |
| Electrical property | Electrical potential increased | Electrical potential increasing | - | The electrical potential of an item is increased. |
| Electrical property | Electrical resistance decreased | Electrical resistance decreasing | - | The electrical resistance of an item is decreased. |
| Electrical property | Electrical resistance increased | Electrical resistance increasing | - | The electrical resistance of an item is increased. |
| Fluid property change | Aerated | Aerating | - | A fluid is contaminated with gas. |
| Fluid property change | Changed lubricity | Changing lubricity | - | The frictional properties of a liquid have been altered. |
| Fluid property change | Contaminated | Contamination increasing | - | A fluid contains undesirable, foreign liquid or solid materials. |
| Fluid property change | Evaporated | Evaporating | - | The state of an item has changed from liquid to gas. |
| Fluid property change | Frozen | Freezing | - | The state of an item has changed from liquid to solid. |
| Mechanical connection | Blocked | Blocking | - | The clearance between two items is filled by a foreign material, preventing the flow of material between them. |
| Mechanical connection | Disconnected | Disconnecting | - | The clearance between two items is increased, preventing mechanical interactions between them. |
| Mechanical connection | Geometric property mismatch | Geometric property mismatching | - | The mechanical property of an item is changed, generating mechanical interactions between it and another item. |
| Mechanical connection | Interference | Interfering | - | The clearance between two items is decreased, enabling mechanical interactions between them. |
| Mechanical connection | Loose | Loosening | - | The clearance between two items is increased, allowing undesired relative motion between them. |
| Mechanical connection | Misaligned | Misaligning | - | The relative position or attitude of an item has changed. |
| Mechanical connection | Seized | Seizing | - | The clearance between two items is decreased, preventing relative motion between them. |
| Mechanical connection | Separated | Separating | - | The clearance between two items is increased (allowing the flow of material between them). |
| Mechanical connection | Tight | Tightening | - | The clearance between two items is decreased, generating excessive normal forces between them. |
| Mechanical property | Brittle | Embrittling | - | The resistance of an item to brittle fracture is decreased. |
| Mechanical property | Hard | Hardening | - | The resistance of an item to surface deformation is increased. |
| Mechanical property | Molten | Melting | - | The state of an item has changed from solid to liquid, liquefied by heat. |
| Mechanical property | Plastic | Plasticizing | - | The resistance of an item to irreversible mechanical deformation is decreased. |
| Mechanical property | Softened | Stiffness Reducing | - | The resistance of an item to elastic deformation is decreased. |
| Mechanical property | Stiffened | Stiffening | - | The resistance of an item to elastic deformation is increased. |
| Mechanical property | Stiffness reduced | Softening | - | The resistance of an item to surface deformation is decreased. |
| Mechanical property | Toughened | Toughening | - | The resistance of an item to fracture is increased. |
| Mechanical property | Weakened | Weakening | - | The resistance of an item to ductile fracture is decreased. |
| Operator Faults | Action Fault | - | - | The operator's actions were insufficient to bring about the desired consequences. |
| Operator Faults | Attention Fault | - | - | The trigger information was presented to the operator but not noticed by him/her. |
| Operator Faults | Decision Fault | - | - | The operator made a wrong choice in an undetermined situation. |
| Operator Faults | Intention Fault | - | - | The operator knew what action to perform, but omitted to perform the action. |
| Operator Faults | Perception Fault | - | - | The trigger information was presented but not noticed or understood by the operator. |
| Operator Faults | Reasoning Fault | - | - | The operator falsely concluded what his/her action should be. |
| Shape change | Bent | Bending | - | An initially straight item possesses curvature. |
| Shape change | Buckled | Buckling | - | An initially straight item is permanently bent out of shape to the point of structural instability. |
| Shape change | Compressed | Compressing | - | Item has deformed in one direction, and its length is decreased. |
| Shape change | Dimension changed | Dimension changing | - | Dimension change making item(s) unsuitable for its intended duty. |
| Shape change | Expanded | Expanding | - | Item is deformed in more than one direction such that its volume is increased. |
| Shape change | Extruded | Extruding | - | Item is deformed according to the shape of the opening through which it has been pushed. |
| Shape change | Perforated | Perforating | - | A hole has penetrated through the wall/skin of the item. |
| Shape change | Sheared | Shearing | - | Item is deformed such that parallel planes are translated with respect to each other. |
| Shape change | Shrunk | Shrinking | - | Item has deformed in more than one direction, and its volume is decreased. |
| Shape change | Stretched | Stretching | - | Item is deformed such that its length is increased. |
| Shape change | Twisted | Twisting | - | Item is deformed about one axis such that one end is rotated relative to the other. |
| Software | Data Corruption | - | - | The output produces unexpected results and may be partially inaccessible. |
| Software | Data Loss | - | - | Information has been deleted or altered. |
| Software | Data Theft | - | - | Information has been acquired by unauthorized personnel. |
| Software | Deadlock | - | - | Two or more processes are in an indefinite waiting state. |
| Software | Delay discrepancy | - | Jitter | The system has a significant timing variation between each successive cycle. |
| Software | Denial of access | - | - | The application or system is unable to be accessed. |
| Software | Faulty error handling | - | - | There is a wrong error message relayed, a failure to detect an error or a false error is detected. |
| Software | Inaccessible database | - | Database error | A failure to store and/or retrieve data from database file. |
| Software | Lack of Bandwidth | - | - | There is a limited amount of data transfer rate available. |
| Software | Lack of Communication | - | - | There is a lack of transmission between two or more communicating devices. |
| Software | Lack of Memory | - | - | There is no memory allocation for new data or processes. |
| Software | Race condition | - | Non-reentract function | Two conflicting operations are attempting to occur at the same time instead of in the proper sequence. |
| Software | Request Forgery | - | Session Riding, One-click attacks, Hostile linking, Automation attack, CSRF, XSRF, Cross site fault, Restriction fault | Unauthorized commands are accepted from a trusted websites user. |
| Software | Security Breach | - | - | The integrity of the systems software security has been diminished. |
| Software | Stale Data | - | - | The cached data has not been updated and may be out of date. |
| Software | Unable to execute | - | - | The system can not execute a pathway causing the system to fail. |
| Surface change | Abraded | Abrading | - | Outer layer of surface material has been removed, and lower layers of the same surface material have been exposed. |
| Surface change | Adhered | Adhering | - | The outer layer of an item is prone to molecular bonding with other items. |
| Surface change | Blistered | Blistering | - | The outer layer has localized swelling, which has formed pockets of gas or liquid. |
| Surface change | Chipped | Chippping | - | Loss of surface material leaving shallow, rounded voids. |
| Surface change | Corroded | Corroding | - | The outer layer of an item has been chemically removed by a corrosive agent. |
| Surface change | Dented | Denting | - | The outer layer has localized deformations caused by impact. |
| Surface change | Etched | Etching | - | Localized areas of the outer layer of an item have been chemically removed. |
| Surface change | Grooved | Grooving | - | Surface material has been locally removed or deformed. |
| Surface change | Outgrowths | Outgrowing | - | Mounds of additional material is present on the surface of the item. |
| Surface change | Oxidised | Oxidising | - | The outer layer of an item has reacted with oxygen and is an oxide compound. |
| Surface change | Pitted | Pitting | - | Loss of surface material leaving deep, rounded voids. |
| Surface change | Polished | Polishing | - | Surface of material has been evenly removed and possesses reduced surface peaks and valleys. |
| Surface change | Porous | Porosity Increasing | - | Surface material contains voids. |
| Surface change | Rough | Roughening | - | The outer layer is unevenly deformed and possesses peaks and valleys. |
| Surface change | Ruptured | Rupturing | - | A tear in the item, result of breaking open or bursting. |
| Surface change | Scaled | Scaling | - | Mounds of additional material is present on the surface of the item. |
| Surface change | Scratched | Scratching | - | Surface material has been locally removed or deformed. |
| Surface change | Stripped | Stripping | - | Generalized loss of surface material, exposing a surface layer of different material. |
| Surface change | Spiked | Spiking | Hillocked | The outer layer of an item possesses whisker-like outgrowths of one phase of its material. |
| Surface change | Surface cracks | Surface cracking | - | Surface layer of material is fractured. |
| Surface change | Torn | Tearing | - | Surface layer of material is torn. |
| Surface change | Warped | Warping | - | Initially perpendicular cross-sectional surfaces are no longer perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the item. |
Source: Local MADE 3.9.1 installation: com.phm.made.help.plugin/documents/help/html/MADeHelp/03-Modelling/03-04-FailureDiagram/03-04-03-FailureConcepts/03-04-03-03-Faults.html · retrieved 2026-07-09