Method and apparatus for predicting the failure of a component
AssigneeVextec Corporation
InventorRobert G. Tryon, III
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention provides a method and apparatus for predicting the failure of a component using a probabilistic model of a material's microstructural-based response to fatigue. The method predicts the component failure by a computer simulation of multiple incarnations of real material behavior, or virtual prototyping. The virtual prototyping simulates the effects of characteristics that include grain size, grain orientation, micro-applied stress and micro-yield strength that are difficult to simulate with real specimens. The invention provides an apparatus for predicting the response of a component to fatigue using the method.
Claims21
A method for predicting the failure of a component, the method comprising:
- obtaining a Finite Element Model (FEM) of a component;
- analyzing said FEM to obtain stresses at nodes of said FEM;
- identifying a subset of said nodes as significant nodes based on said stresses;
- determining a Representative Volume Element (RVE) for at least one of said significant nodes;
- developing an RVE microstructure-based failure model for at least one said RVE;
- simulating a component life using at least one RVE microstructure-based failure model, said simulating producing a result related to said component life;
- performing said simulating a plurality of times to produce results related to component life;
- preparing statistics using said results;
- and
- comparing said statistics to a probability of failure (POF) criteria to determine whether said performing predicted failure for said component.
An apparatus for predicting the failure of a component comprising:
- a central processing unit (CPU);
- an output device for displaying simulated fatigue results;
- an input device for receiving input;
- and
- a memory comprising:
- instructions for receiving input comprising:
- a component's material characteristics, a Finite Element Model (FEM) of said component, and at least one Representative Volume Element (RVE) microstructure-based failure model;
- instructions for predicting failure of said component comprising:
- analyzing said FEM to obtain stresses at nodes of said FEM;
- identifying a subset of said nodes as significant nodes based on said stresses;
- determining an RVE for at least one of said significant nodes;
- simulating a component life using at least one RVE microstructure-based failure model, said simulating producing a result related to component life;
- performing said simulating a plurality of times to produce results related to component life;
- preparing statistics using said results;
- and
- comparing said statistics to a probability of failure (POF) criteria to determine whether said performing predicted failure for said component;
- and
- instructions for displaying a result from said predicting.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.