Failure Analysis and Forensic Consulting for Overhead Line Assets

by: Ehsan Mostaed, PhD, PE

Overhead transmission and distribution lines play a vital role in power delivery—but they operate in conditions that gradually wear on their structural and electrical integrity. When components like conductors, insulators, or tower hardware fail, the consequences can include outages, equipment damage, fire hazards, and safety risks for both personnel and the public.

Understanding the physical causes of these failures is key to both short-term response and long-term system reliability.  Expert-led failure analysis and forensic consulting can provide utilities with the insight needed to address degradation and prevent high-impact events.

Why Failures Happen—and Why They Matter
Most failures in overhead line systems develop over time. Contributing factors often include fatigue from vibration, material aging, corrosion, arcing, or mechanical overload. These processes may go undetected by routine inspections—yet they can lead to sudden component failures when combined with environmental stress or elevated loading.

The risk goes beyond the failed part. A broken clamp or compromised insulator can affect system performance, trigger cascading outages, or create conditions for fire ignition. Identifying degradation mechanisms early and implementing mitigation strategies is critical to maintaining system reliability, regulatory compliance, and public safety.

More Than Failure Analysis
Failure analysis is not simply about identifying broken parts. It is a structured investigation that combines materials science, mechanical analysis, and field data to determine why a component failed—and whether other components may be at risk of the same outcome.

Forensic findings can inform not only immediate repairs, but also broader asset management decisions—such as whether similar components in the system should be replaced, monitored more closely, or reclassified in risk models.

These evaluations produce evidence-based insights, supporting both engineering decisions and risk prioritization across an asset fleet.

The Approach

Stress Engineering Services (SES) supports electric utilities across the U.S. with failure analysis and forensic consulting focused on overhead line assets. Our team brings expertise in materials science, mechanical testing, and power infrastructure, with capabilities that include:

• Root cause investigations of conductors, insulators, hardware, and tower components
• Lab-based testing of fatigue, corrosion, and material degradation
• Quantitative evaluation of structural integrity, residual strength, and coating condition
• Integration of findings with client inspection photos, removed components, or full structures

We also help utilities interpret these findings in the context of asset management—whether that means guiding replacement schedules, refining inspection priorities, or validating the performance of new components under field conditions.

Supporting Informed Decision-Making

As power infrastructure ages, utilities face pressure to extend service life while managing risk and meeting reliability expectations. Forensic consulting offers a practical way to understand asset conditions at a deeper level. It informs maintenance decisions, reduces uncertainty, and provides technical evidence that supports long-term planning.

Whether responding to a failure, or addressing emerging degradation, SES helps utilities make better-informed decisions through clear, technical evaluation of overhead system components.

For more information, contact: Ehsan Mostaed, PhD, PE