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Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has extensive experience in the development and application of advanced methods for component life prediction and predicting the probabilistic response and reliability of engineered systems. Many of these advanced methods are now available as licensable software tools with user-friendly graphical user interfaces. Major companies around the world are using these software tools to analyze material and structural integrity and reliability.
NESSUS® is a modular computer software system for performing probabilistic analysis of structural/mechanical components and systems. NESSUS combines state-of-the-art probabilistic algorithms with general-purpose numerical analysis methods to compute the probabilistic response and reliability of engineered systems. Uncertainty in loading, material properties, geometry, boundary conditions, and initial conditions can be simulated. Many deterministic modeling tools can be used such as finite element, boundary element, hydrocodes, and user-defined subroutines. NESSUS offers a wide range of capabilities, a graphical user interface, and is verified using hundreds of test problems. NESSUS received an R&D 100 Award in 2004.
DARWIN® calculates the probability of fracture of gas turbine engine components and other highly stressed mechanical systems by integrating 2D and 3D finite element models and stress analysis results, fatigue crack formation and growth analyses, material anomaly data, probability of anomaly detection, and inspection schedules. Specialized analysis modes include hard alpha anomalies in titanium rotors, materials with large numbers of inherent anomalies, and surface damage in all rotor materials. The software also indicates the regions of the component most likely to fracture, and the risk reduction associated with single and multiple inspections. DARWIN received an R&D 100 Award in 2000.
NASGRO® is a suite of fracture mechanics and fatigue crack growth analysis computer programs that perform assessments of structural life, compute stress intensity factors, and process and store fatigue crack growth properties. Working closely with NASA and industry, SwRI releases new versions of NASGRO annually with many new features. Recent enhancements include many new K solutions, residual stress capabilities, increased speed, new GUIs, residual strength diagrams, spectrum editing, temperature effects, cyclic shakedown models, cycle counting algorithms, and a revised material database. NASGRO received an R&D 100 Award in 2003 and the NASA Software of the Year award in 2003.
COATLIFE Version 4.0 (COATLIFE-4.0) is a life-prediction software developed at SwRI under DOE and EPRI sponsorship, for predicting the remaining life of combustion turbine coatings in land-based gas turbine machines. The primary failure modes of combustion turbine (CT) coatings are coating degradation caused by oxidation and thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) cracking. The coating failure caused by degradation is commonly observed in blades that operated in a base-loaded machine, while coating cracking caused by TMF is widely seen in blades that operated in peak loaded machines. The blades are normally refurbished when the TMF cracks are limited to the coating thickness. Both coating failure modes are separately treated in COATLIFE-4.0, which now includes a user-friendly Excel-based spreadsheet program for ranking, selecting, and estimating remaining service life of a variety of metallic coatings, including overlay, diffusion, and duplex coatings, as well as air-plasma-sprayed (APS) thermal barrier coatings (TBC). COATLIFE Version 4.0, has been extensively validated for both oxidation and thermomechanical fatigue failure mechanisms for both metallic and APS-TBC coatings.
FlawPRO™ is a computer program developed and validated by SwRI against full-scale pipe test data as part of a Joint Industry Program (JIP) titled Validation of a Methodology for Assessing Defect Tolerance of Welded Reeled Risers and Flowlines that involved major companies in the offshore industry, including four oil companies, a pipe manufacturer, and a pipeline installer. Although designed to perform engineering critical assessment (ECA) for pipes subjected to high strain when installed by the reeling process, FlawPRO can also perform ECA for conventionally installed pipes. FlawPRO has been used to perform ECA to derive acceptable flaw sizes in support of offshore projects involving pipes installed by the reeling process and using conventional installation methods.
Links to additional SwRI structural integrity and reliability information:
Reliability and Materials Integrity Section
For more information about NESSUS software or how you can contract with SwRI, please contact David S. Riha at driha@swri.org or (210) 522-5221.
For more information about DARWIN software or how you can contract with SwRI, please contact Michael P. Enright at menright@swri.org or (210) 522-2033.
For more information about NASGRO software or how you can contract with SwRI, please contact Joseph W. Cardinal at jcardinal@swri.org or (210) 522-3323.
For more information about Coatlife Version 4.0 software or how you can contract with SwRI, please contact Kwai Chan at kchan@swri.org or (210) 522-2053.
For more information about FlawPRO software or how you can contract with SwRI, please contact Graham Chell, Ph.D., at flawpro@swri.org or (210) 522-6810.
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| Structural Engineering Department | Mechanical Engineering Division | SwRI Home | |
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Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 11 technical divisions. |
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January 03, 2013 |
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