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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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Consortium Information |
The
NASGRO® computer code was first developed in the 1980s for fracture control
analysis on NASA space hardware. Additional funding from NASA, FAA, and USAF
in the 1990s supported substantial improvements for aircraft structures
applications. The growing interest in NASGRO among many industrial users
motivated NASA to develop a new partnership with industry. NASA and
Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) signed a Space Act Agreement in 2000,
renewed in 2009, under which SwRI formed a consortium of industrial NASGRO
users to provide guidance and support for future NASGRO development and user
services.
The NASGRO Consortium, which began in 2001, has been extremely successful. Fourteen major manufacturers of space structures, aircraft, rotorcraft, and gas turbine engines from nine different countries made an initial three-year commitment to consortium participation. The Consortium was renewed for a second three-year cycle in 2004, and financial participation grew by more than 30% as additional companies joined or expanded their membership. The Consortium grew again for the third cycle (2007-2010), which is currently underway. A new cycle is anticipated to begin in 2010, and new members will be accepted at that time.
The NASGRO Consortium enhances the long-term health of NASGRO by making the code more powerful and more popular. The Consortium:
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Identifies and prioritizes needed new NASGRO capabilities
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Provides user support services
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Provides a stable revenue stream to expand and accelerate NASGRO enhancements
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Promotes technical interactions among fracture mechanics experts and practitioners
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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 12 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 3,300 employees who perform contract work for industry and government clients.