Back to Company SearchSBIR-STTR-Success: Fracture Analysis Consultants, Inc.
ABOUT TO CRACK: SBIR-supported software predictively prevents fractured engine components
On July 19...
Company
Portfolio Data
Fracture Analysis Consultants, Inc.
UEI: H593X9MY8ML5
Number of Employees: 2
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
SBIR/STTR Involvement
Year of first award: 1989
5
Phase I Awards
4
Phase II Awards
80%
Conversion Rate
$408,898
Phase I Dollars
$2,271,898
Phase II Dollars
$2,680,796
Total Awarded
Success Stories
See what our company has achieved through SBIR/STTR funding.
Awards
Fretting Fatigue Modeling and Life Prediction
Amount: $149,274 Topic: N06-126
The US Navy is concerned with fretting fatigue as a controlling factor in aircraft component life, such as the dovetail contact of blade/disk assemblies and spline gears in helicopter transmissions. To model fretting fatigue crack nucleation and subsequent fatigue crack growth, the FRANC3D software was modified to include fretting nucleation models. These models, combined with finite element results predict fretting nucleation life and crack nucleation sites. Discrete crack insertion and growth is then simulated to predict total life. FRANC3D has been used to successfully simulate fretting fatigue in: dog-bone specimens, small scale dovetail specimens, a blade/disk assembly, helicopter transmission gear teeth, and a wind turbine shaft/bearing assembly. These simulations highlighted the need for additional fretting experiments, as fretting nucleation models require material dependent parameters. The Army Research Lab will conduct a suite of experiments on bare- and coated-steel dog-bone specimens with titanium fretting pins. This data will verify and validate the fretting nucleation models, and the FRANC3D simulations will provide benchmarks for simulating fretting fatigue in more complex components. Enhancements to the software will allow a straightforward transition from fretting nucleation to fatigue crack growth, thereby providing total life predictions for critical aircraft components.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase II
2016
DOD
NAVY
Three-Dimensional (3-D) Crack Growth Life Prediction for Probabilistic Risk Analysis of Turbine Engine Metallic Components
Amount: $746,355 Topic: AF103-157
ABSTRACT: Over the past few years, the Air Force has increased the emphasis on probabilistic methods for design reliability predictions of fracture critical engine components, including metallic turbine engine blades and disks. A significant shortcoming and potential source of conservatism of most current life prediction tools and methodologies is the reliance on stress intensity factor values obtained from highly idealized component and crack geometries. In Phase I, we demonstrated that this shortcoming could be overcome by making an existing high fidelity 3D crack growth simulator work together with an existing probabilistic life prediction code. The resulting prototype software tool was used to perform a probabilistic life prediction for a geometrically complex engine component. For Phase II, we propose to develop the prototype software into a tool suitable for routine production use. This will include creating a unified graphical user interface, adding additional features, performing sensitivity studies that will assess accuracy/efficiency tradeoffs and develop best practices, and performing a series of analyses that include advanced life prediction topics. BENEFIT: The successful completion of Phase II will result in a high fidelity probabilistic fatigue life prediction tool for metallic turbine engine components. Such a tool will allow engine manufacturers to reduce uncertainty and conservatism in fatigue life assessments. This means that for current engine designs, component lives or inspection intervals can be extended with no increased risk of failure. For new engine designs, the tool can be used to help find the optimal point among performance, efficiency, and life cycle cost. The tool can be used by the government to perform high accuracy fracture risk assessments independent of the manufacturers. The tool can also be applied to other applications with fracture critical components, such as airframes and power generation turbines, among others.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase II
2012
DOD
USAF
Three-Dimensional (3-D) Crack Growth Life Prediction for Probabilistic Risk Analysis of Turbine Engine Metallic Components
Amount: $99,768 Topic: AF103-157
ABSTRACT: The Air Force has been placing increased emphasis on probabilistic methods for predictions of design reliability of fracture critical engine components, including metallic turbine engine blades and disks. Current state-of-the-practice for these methods typically include a significant amount of conservatism in crack initiation and fatigue crack growth and inspection design criteria due to uncertainties in material properties, fatigue performance, crack growth analysis, stress analysis, residual stresses, damage mechanisms, and nondestructive inspection, among others. We propose to develop and demonstrate a new probabilistic life prediction methodology that will significantly reduce uncertainty and conservatism by employing an accurate mechanics based crack growth analysis. We will combine an existing high fidelity 3D crack growth simulator (FRANC3D) with an existing probabilistic life prediction code (DARWIN). Both codes are recognized as being the most mature and the most capable codes in their areas of specialization (high fidelity crack modeling and probabilistic life prediction , respectively). The new methodology is expected to reduce conservatism in probabilistic life predictions, thus extending component lives or inspection intervals. The proposed effort includes the involvement of a major engine OEM. BENEFIT: Current probabilistic methodologies for setting fatigue lives and inspection intervals for metallic engine components include a significant amount of conservatism due to uncertainties in the, among other things, crack growth analysis. The proposed effort will combine a high fidelity crack growth simulator (FRANC3D) with a probabilistic fatigue life calculator (DARWIN). The resulting tool and methodology is expected to reduce conservatism in probabilistic life predictions, thus increasing the predicted mean time to failure. For a constant relative probability of failure this will extend the allowable component life and inspection intervals. Extending component fatigue lives and inspection intervals will yield significant costs saving over the lifetime of the engine. The resulting methodology can be used in non-engine applications such as airframes, land and sea based turbines, and terrestrial vehicles.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
2011
DOD
USAF
Fretting Fatigue Modeling and Life Prediction
Amount: $664,023 Topic: N06-126
The US Navy is working towards providing more reliable estimates of fatigue life to reduce the risk of component failure during flight and to improve repair schedules while reducing costs. Fretting fatigue is seen as one of the controlling factors in the life of aircraft engine components where cyclic loading leads to contact and slip between mating parts. For instance, the disk/blade assemblies in turbine engines suffer fretting at the dovetail contacts. In the proposed analysis methodology, an analytical model of fretting fatigue crack nucleation based on the uncracked stresses in the contact region provides the component life up to the point of a measurable crack. A finite-element-based approach to model the discrete, arbitrary, 3D crack growth from the measurable, initial crack to the point of failure provides a stress intensity factor history and remaining life estimate. The marriage of the two approaches provides a cradle-to-grave analysis capability for modeling fretting fatigue. Fracture Analysis Consultants Inc. (FAC) along with Research Applications Inc. (RAI), in consultation with Pratt & Whitney, intend to develop and validate such a methodology starting from RAI’s analytical model of fretting fatigue crack nucleation and FAC’s finite-element-based fracture analysis software, Franc3D/NG.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase II
2007
DOD
NAVY
Three-Dimensional Nonlinear Structural Analysis Methods for Gas Turbine Engine Metallic Components and Component Assemblies
Amount: $712,246 Topic: AF06-095
This Phase II proposal describes the continued development of three-dimensional, nonlinear structural analysis methods for use in prognosis systems for aerospace, gas turbine, metallic components and component assemblies. In Phase I, Fracture Analysis Consultants Inc. (FAC) demonstrated the feasibility of using a three-dimensional fracture propagation program, Franc3D/NG, to automatically generate finite element models that relate sensor-measurable structural response to damage scenarios involving fatigue cracks. These numerical results were used to generate probabilistic predictions of remaining useful component life. In Phase II, FAC proposes to work closely with Pratt & Whitney to expand on the Phase I work with four key areas of emphasis. First, we propose to incorporate realistic engine loads, such as combined high and low frequency cycling, and realistic materials, such as single crystal alloys. Second, we propose to incorporate advanced 3D fracture mechanics, including mixed mode I, II, and III loading, orthotropic material behavior, and crack growth in residual stresses due to surface treatments. Third, we propose to verify the software using historical and newly generated test results. Fourth, we propose to verify the software and demonstrate its usefulness and usability in an actual engine development and production environment.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase II
2007
DOD
USAF
Fretting Fatigue Modeling and Life Prediction
Amount: $79,600 Topic: N06-126
The US Navy is working towards providing more reliable estimates of fatigue life to reduce the risk of component failure during flight and to improve repair schedules while reducing costs. Fretting fatigue is seen as one of the controlling factors in the life of aircraft engine components where cyclic loading leads to contact and slip between mating parts. For instance, the disk/blade assemblies in turbine engines suffer fretting at the dovetail contacts. In the proposed analysis methodology, an analytical model of fretting fatigue crack nucleation based on the uncracked stresses in the contact region provides the component life up to the point of a measurable crack. A finite-element-based approach to model the discrete, arbitrary, 3D crack growth from the measurable, initial crack to the point of failure provides a stress intensity factor history and remaining life estimate. The marriage of the two approaches provides a cradle-to-grave analysis capability for modeling fretting fatigue. Fracture Analysis Consultants Inc. (FAC) along with Research Applications Inc. (RAI), in consultation with Pratt & Whitney, intend to develop and validate such a methodology starting from RAI’s analytical model of fretting fatigue crack nucleation and FAC’s finite-element-based fracture analysis software, Franc3D/NG.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
2006
DOD
NAVY
Three-Dimensional Nonlinear Structural Analysis Methods for Gas Turbine Engine Metallic Components and Component Assemblies
Amount: $99,727 Topic: AF06-095
This Phase I proposal describes the development of three-dimensional, nonlinear structural analysis methods for use in prognosis systems for aerospace, gas turbine, metallic components and component assemblies. Fracture Analysis Consultants Inc (FAC) and Impact Technologies (ITech), with cooperation from Pratt & Whitney (P&W), propose to enhance an existing three-dimensional fracture propagation program, Franc3D/NG, to automatically generate finite element models that relate sensor measurable structural response to damage scenarios involving multiple fatigue cracks, crack locations, and crack sizes. These numerical results will be used to develop response surfaces that relate the rate of damage progression to multiple inputs such as loads, material properties, crack location(s), and crack size(s). The response surfaces will form the basis of probabilistic wrappers for fast predictions of remaining useful component life without the need for additional computationally intensive runs of three-dimensional finite element models.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
2006
DOD
USAF
3-D Boundary Element Analysis for Composite Joints with Discrete Damage
Amount: $79,944
Fracture Analysis Consultants (FAC) proposes to develop a 3D, boundary element-based system for detailed stress analysis of composite joints. The FRANC3D system will be able to model bolted and bonded joints of arbitrary geometry, and include clamping and contact stresses from bolts. The system will also accommodate any number of discrete cracks in arbitrary locations and orientations in the joint, and simulate the arbitrary growth and interaction of such defects, automatically updating the mesh with each change in geometry. The FRANC3D system is based on a topological database which efficiently integrates and controls object-oriented solid modeling, automatic mesh generation and modification, a boundary element analysis (BEM) engine, fracture analysis, and a full range of results visualization. The BEM engine will be based on a new Symmetric-Galerkin, hypersingular formulation which will substantially increase efficiency for large 3D problems, while retaining the ability to model cracks with a single domain approach. The main goal of Phase I will be to demonstrate our capabilities in BEM formulation, solution of benchmark 2D problems, and 3D contact stress analysis. In Phase II we will concentrate on 3D BEM engine development and on simulation of crack growth.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
1996
DOD
USAF
LIFE PREDICTION OF TURBINE BLADES BY COMPUTER MODELING
Amount: $49,859
THE CASTING PROCESS PRODUCES FLAWS OF VARIOUS TYPES AND SIZES IN TURBINE BLADES. EACH FLAW POTENTIALLY DEGRADES THE LIFE OF THE BLADE, BUT FOR ECONOMIC REASONS MANY INITIAL FLAW CLASSES ARE PERMITTED ON THE BASIS OF ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA DEVELOPED EMPIRICALLY BY ENGINE MANUFACTURERS. THE PROBLEM WITH THIS APPROACH IS THAT IT REQUIRES DATA OBTAINED FROM EXPERIENCE. IT CANNOT PREDICT BLADE LIFE IN A NEW ENGINE. MOREOVER, MANY BLADES CONTAINING A CHARACTERISTIC FLAWS CAN BE IN USE BEFORE SUCH A FLAW IS FOUND TO REDUCE SUBSTANTIALLY EXPECTED LIFE. WE PROPOSE TO CREATE A HIGHLY INTERACTIVE, COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN SYSTEM TO SIMULATE THE PERFORMANCE OF A BLADE CONTAINING SPECIFIC FLAWS AND FLAW SIZES AT ARBITRARY LOCATIONS. THE SYSTEM WILL HAVE THE FOLLOWING INNOVATIVE FEATURES: SIMULATION BASED ON A TRUE GEOMETRIC REPRESENTATION OF THE BLADE VIA SOLID MODELING. A SOPHISTICATED, TOPOLOGY-BASED DATA STRUCTURE TO SUPPORT LINKAGE TO THE SOLID MODEL, FAST INTERACTION, AND ACCURATE REPRESENTATION OF EVOLVING FLAW SHAPES. THE ABILITY TO SPECIFY FLAWS TO ARBITRARY SHAPE, INCLUDING NON-PLANAR, SIZE, AND ORIENTATION AT ARBITRARY LOCATIONS IN THE GEOMETRIC MODEL. AUTOMATIC LOCAL REMESHING TO SIMULATE FLAW GROWTH. MODUALR ENCAPSULATION OF FRACTURE MECHANICS THEORIES AND GROWTH-RATE MODELS FOR PREDICTING THE EVOLUTION OF A FLAW. STATE-FO-THE-ART TECHNIQUES FOR SCIENTIFIC VISUALIZATION VIA COMPUTER GRAPHICS.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
1989
DOD
NAVY