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KEY TERMS:
NASGRO
FLAGRO
life
assessment
crack
growth
fracture
mechanics
damage
tolerance
structural
integrity
analysis
materials
database
consortium
software
stress
intensity
factor
boundary
element
method
fracture
control
critical
crack size
NASA
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Background |
NASGRO®
(previously NASA/FLAGRO) was initially developed and released in the 1980s for
fracture control analysis of NASA space hardware. Early development was funded
solely by NASA and performed at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) by a contractor support team with technical guidance from NASA. The European Space
Agency (ESA) provided some additional technical contributions.
With the creation of the NASA/FAA/USAF National Aging Aircraft Program, NASGRO was chosen as the preferred software package for further development to address fatigue crack growth analysis of aircraft structures. Additional funding from NASA, the FAA, and the USAF was provided to support this development, leading to the significant improvements in capabilities in NASGRO Version 3.0.
Substantial recent improvements in NASGRO have made it a more valuable structural integrity analysis tool for a much larger number of potential users, including a number of major aerospace/aircraft companies and other companies and agencies outside of the aerospace community. Several of these companies expressed interest and desire to assist in ensuring NASGRO's continued enhancement to better address their specific needs. These interests, coupled with NASA's desire to continue the long-term enhancement of NASGRO, led to the formation of the NASGRO Consortium.
Continued NASA funding, augmented by NASGRO Consortium funding, is leading to further improvements in the technical capabilities and user support of NASGRO and will make NASGRO a more valuable analytical tool for an increasingly wider audience.
Materials
Engineering Department
Structural Engineering Department
Mechanical Engineering
Division
SwRI Home
Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) is an independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 11 technical divisions using multidisciplinary approaches to problem solving. The Institute occupies 1,200 acres and provides nearly two million square feet of laboratories, test facilities, workshops, and offices for more than 2,973 employees who perform contract work for industry and government clients.
