About Duffner Engineering
 Dirk DuffnerFounder |
Duffner Engineering specializes in failure analysis and accident reconstruction: finding out why things break. Founder Dirk Duffner, P.E., brings over 40 years of experience in mechanical engineering, materials science and metallurgy to investigations of machinery, vehicles, aircraft, pressure vessels, medical devices, consumer products and building systems, including plumbing and HVAC construction defects.
His specialty is fatigue, fracture and corrosion in metals, plastics and composites. Each investigation aims to pin down the root cause of a failure, and whether it stems from design, manufacturing or service.
We combine careful inspection with mechanical, structural and environmental testing and computer analysis, including finite element modeling, using tools from microscopes, strain gages and load cells to software for data analysis and dynamics. Because the clues to a failure can disappear with handling or clean-up, evidence is photo-documented and preserved with full chain of custody.