System and method for determining fatigue life expenditure of a component
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorChester L. Balestra
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method for determining remaining fatigue life of a component experiencing stress/strain cycles. In one embodiment the fractional life expended per clock cycle of the component is determined and multiplied by a data type value indicating whether a full cycle, half cycle or no stress/strain amplitude information was present during a given clock cycle. The product is then summed with the result of the previously clock cycle, to produce a running total of the fractional life expended. The running total is then subtracted, at each clock cycle, from an initial fatigue life value, and the output represents the residual fatigue life remaining for the component.
Claims17
A method for determining the remaining fatigue life of a component that experiences a cyclic stress/strain, comprising:
- monitoring stress/strain of said component and generating a plurality of stress/strain amplitude range values over a plurality of full stress/strain cycles and half stress strain cycles affecting said component;
- using a clock and generating said full and half stress/stain cycles for each clock cycle of the clock;
- processing the stress/strain amplitude range values together with known fatigue information regarding said component to determine fractions of fatigue life of said component expended as a result of each said full stress/strain cycle and each said half stress/strain cycle;
- and
- using said fractions of fatigue life of said component that have been expended during said full and half stress/strain cycles to maintain a record of remaining fatigue life of said component.
A method for determining the remaining fatigue life of a component that experiences a cyclic stress/strain, comprising:
- monitoring stress/strain of said component over a plurality of full stress/strain amplitude cycles and half stress/strain amplitude cycles affecting said component and generating a plurality of stress/strain amplitude values;
- generating said full and half stress/strain cycles for each clock cycle of a clock;
- processing the monitored stress/strain amplitude values to generate a stream of stress/strain amplitude range values, as a function of time;
- the stress/strain amplitude range values each representing a difference between maxima and minima stress strain amplitude values occurring in either a half stress/strain amplitude cycle or a full stress/strain amplitude cycle;
- and
- using the stress/strain amplitude range values, and a known fatigue life of said component, to determine fractions of fatigue life of said component that are expended during said full and half stress/strain cycles and to maintain a record of fatigue life of said component.
A system for monitoring fatigue life of a component, comprising:
- a clock for generating a plurality of clock cycles;
- a stress/strain subsystem for monitoring stress/strain in said component and generating one stress/strain amplitude value for each said clock cycle;
- an amplitude analyzing subsystem that receives said stress/strain amplitude values and sorts maxima and minima stress/strain amplitude values to generate a plurality of stress/strain amplitude range values for each full cycle and each half cycle of detected stress/strain amplitude values, for each said clock cycle;
- and
- a processor that receives said stress/strain amplitude range values, and known information on fatigue characteristics of said component, and that generates information representing fractional fatigue life expended for said component, and to further enable a total expenditure of fatigue life to be determined for said component.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.