Methods and systems for evaluating defects in metals

A method in a computer system for estimating a number of life cycles a component having a defect can experience before failure, the component being subjected to an operating temperature and an operating stress during operation, the defect being definable by a defect dimension, the method comprising:

• providing a first parameter data set comprising a first temperature parameter, a first stress parameter, and a first dimension parameter;
• providing a second parameter data set comprising a second temperature parameter, a second stress parameter, and a second dimension parameter;
• providing a third parameter data set comprising a third temperature parameter, a third stress parameter, and a third dimension parameter, wherein the third temperature parameter is between the first and second temperature parameters, the third stress parameter is between the first and second stress parameters, and the third dimension parameter is between the first and second dimension parameters;
• determining a first number of life cycles based on the first parameter data set;
• determining a second number of life cycles based on the second parameter data set;
• and
• determining a third number of life cycles based on the first and second numbers of life cycles.

A method in a computer system for evaluating a metallic component having a defect, the method comprising:

• providing two or more index value data sets, wherein each index value data set comprises a temperature index value, a stress index value, and a dimension index value;
• evaluating the two or more index value data sets to determine a measure of performance for each of the two or more index value data sets;
• and
• interpolating between the measures of performance for the two or more index value data sets to determine a measure of performance for the metallic component having the defect.

A method for estimating a number of life cycles a component having a defect can experience before failure, the component being subjected to an operating temperature and an operating stress during operation, the defect being definable by a defect dimension, the method comprising:

• providing a first life cycles estimate corresponding to a first parameter data set;
• providing a second life cycles estimate corresponding to a second parameter data set;
• providing a defect parameter data set;
• and
• determining a defect life cycles estimate based on the first and second life cycles estimates and the defect parameter data set.

A display description for evaluating a metallic component having a defect, the defect being definable by a first defect dimension and a second defect dimension, the display description consisting essentially of:

• a material input portion;
• a temperature input portion;
• a stress input portion;
• a first defect dimension input portion;
• and
• a second defect dimension input portion.

A computer system for evaluating a metallic component having a defect, the computer system comprising:

• one or more interpolation factor components containing computer-executable instructions for determining one or more interpolation factors;
• a life cycles component containing computer-executable instructions for calculating a number of life cycles for the metallic component using one or more of the interpolation factors;
• a central processing unit for executing the computer-executable instructions for determining the one or more interpolation factors or the life cycles of the metallic component;
• and
• an output device for displaying the life cycles of the metallic component.

A computer system for estimating a number of life cycles a component having a defect can experience before failure, the component being subjected to an operating temperature and an operating stress during operation, the defect being definable by a defect dimension, the computer system comprising:

• means for providing a first parameter data set;
• means for providing a second parameter data set;
• means for providing a third parameter data set corresponding to the component having the defect;
• means for determining a first life cycles estimate based on the first parameter data set;
• means for determining a second life cycles estimate based on the second parameter data set;
• and
• means for determining a third life cycles estimate corresponding to the component having the defect, the third life cycles estimate being based on the first life cycles estimate, the second life cycles estimate, and the third parameter data set.

A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computer system to estimate a number of life cycles a component having a defect can experience before failure, the component being subjected to an operating temperature and an operating stress during operation, the defect being definable by a defect dimension, the number of life cycles being estimated by a method comprising:

• providing a first life cycles estimate corresponding to a first parameter data set;
• providing a second life cycles estimate corresponding to a second parameter data set;
• providing a defect parameter data set corresponding to the defect;
• and
• determining a defect life cycles estimate based on the first and second life cycles estimates and the defect parameter data set.