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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NASFLA
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The
extensive capabilities of NASFLA, the central life assessment code of NASGRO®,
distinguish it from many other fracture
mechanics codes. The NASFLA module can be used to perform many different types
of fracture mechanics assessments, such as:
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Computing stress intensity factors
for a given crack geometry and loading and display them in tabular or
graphical form. More than 78 different geometries are available.
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Calculating fatigue crack growth
rate using the geometry, initial crack size, and loading spectrum, and
ultimately determining the number of load blocks or cycles that cause the crack
to become unstable. The NASGRO® crack growth equation,
the walker equation and tabular data are used for this.
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Computing the critical initial crack
size that will grow to failure when a specified load history is applied.
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Computing the critical final crack
size for which the applied stress intensity factor under a given load is equal
to the material fracture toughness.
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Performing a sustained crack growth
analysis to calculate crack growth rate and determine the time that a constant
load can be sustained before a glass or glass-like material fails.
NASFLA contains a variety of
options for defining fatigue load histories.
Materials
Engineering Department
Structural Engineering Department
Mechanical Engineering
Division
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