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In addition to providing background about SwRI, the staff is working to provide other useful information and resources.
SwRI Internal Research and Development
3DStress® interactively analyzes the tendency for geological faults and fractures to slip or dilate based on a user-specified three-dimensional stress state. COATLIFE 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. COATLIFE 4.0 is currently utilized or evaluated by a number of plant operators for assessing coating conditions during service. integrates finite element stress analysis results, fracture-mechanics-based life assessment for low-cycle fatigue, material anomaly data, probability of anomaly detection and inspection schedules to determine the probability of fracture of a rotor disk as a function of applied operating cycles. The program also indicates the regions of the disk most likely to fail, and the risk reduction associated with single and multiple inspections. This software will be enhanced to handle anomalies in cast/wrought and powder nickel disks and manufacturing and maintenance-induced surface defects in all disk materials in the near future. NASGRO is an award-winning 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. The previous version NASGRO 3.0 has more than 2,000 users in the space, aircraft, rotorcraft, turbine engine, petrochemical, nuclear, and ground vehicle industries in more than 40 countries. NASGRO 4.0 has been jointly developed by SwRI and NASA Johnson Space Center under the terms of a Space Act Agreement. NESSUS is an award-winning computer program employing state-of-the-art methods for performing probabilistic analysis of structural/mechanical systems. NESSUS can be used to assess component/system reliability, to identify important random variables, to provide information for risk-based decision analysis and reliability-based optimization, and develop designs that are more cost-effective and reliable than those developed using traditional deterministic design methods. The Rapid Automotive Performance Simulator (RAPTOR®) is an award-winning commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) modular simulation software for configuring, assessing and optimizing system performance for any on-highway vehicle allowing engineers to model and test virtual vehicle systems. This specialized computer program was developed to predict wrinkling and burst in large-diameter corroded pipelines under combined internal pressure, axial bending and thermal constraint (compression) loads. The failure prediction protocol within SAFE includes a unique elastic-plastic strain-based rupture prediction model surpassing existing failure prediction models that neglect the effects of combined loading and the nonlinear behavior of pipeline steels at burst.
R&D Links
Southwest Research Institute has several web pages dedicated to providing
more in-depth information on specific Institute programs and technologies.
Visit our SwRI Technical
Areas for a detailed list. For more information, write Communications. Signature Science, LLC, a
biotechnology company that spun off from Radian International is a new
subsidiary of Southwest Research Institute. Signature Science is nationally
recognized for its expertise in fields such as environmental management,
biotechnology, national security, and technical services. The Tianjin SwARC Automotive Research
Laboratory Co., Ltd, is a joint venture between Southwest Research
Institute and the state-owned China Automotive Technology and Research Center.
SwARC provides independent and impartial evaluation of automotive products,
powertrain components and automotive system designs.
March 25, 2013
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