Partner und Internationale Organisationen
(Englisch)
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Rover, Porsche, Georg Fischer, SAMTECH, CEDAR, MIS, University of Bristol
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Abstract
(Englisch)
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ESPRIT 'INTEREST' provides a prototype integrated information system to assist engineers in conducting durability and reliability studies of load-bearing automotive components. It consists of a number of coupled software tools facilitating management of the component development process, the capturing of design-analysis best practice and the automation of CAD and CAE program chains, including parametric design optimisation. The process is conducted within an auditable framework in accordance with ISO 9000. The toolset is comprised of the Job Description System (JDS) which creates process log files, including a record of decision making, thus providing a process audit trail; the Virtual Repository (VR), an engineering data warehouse that manages information about components, activities and documents, based on a formal information model; the Best Practice Adviser (BPA) which gives detailed information assisting engineers in conducting an activity, be it general advice or context-specific information according to the component being analyzed; the Tool Management System (TMS) which analyses and optimizes parameters for responses provided by third-party tools incorporated into the system via driver interfaces, including tool wrapping and tool building capabilities; and the Toolbox for Fatigue & Reliability Design (TbF&R) which provides both deterministic and probabilistic methods for predicting fatigue-life and reliability.
Although these tools have been developed for use with fatigue analysis, most of them are generic and hence amenable to a variety of applications. They are being implemented at a leading auto-manufacturer and a component supplier and should lead to improved collaborative working and increased adoption of virtual prototyping.
The development of the Toolbox for Fatigue & Reliability Design was carried out by EPF Lausanne, together with Porsche. The main results obtained are, first, so-called CPFI Complete-Probability Fast Integration prototype software modules, for the prediction of the lifetime and reliability of metal components, taking into account crack initiation, crack growth, as well as random effects in both the material behavior and the loading; and second, the development of advanced predictive methods for damage tolerance.
A pilot trial has been successfully conducted during 2000/01, involving the consortium industrial partners, using a chassis component and specimens tested by a component supplier. Further trial studies are set to continue following the conclusion of the project, as part of the exploitation. It is anticipated that Prof. H. Bargmann (EPF Lausanne) will also take part in these case studies, running the CPFI reliability analyses stand-alone. Data supplied by the industrial partners would be retrieved from the VR, as input for the reliability analyses, and the results of the latter returned to the VR. This support will continue to be provided through 2002/03.
As to the use and dissemination of our main results during 2002 to 2004, i.e., within the next 3 years after the end of the project, the following activities are envisaged: in teaching, the integration of advanced methods in courses on Applied Mechanics and Reliability Engineering both at the EPF Lausanne and at the University of Technology, Vienna; in research, the further development of the software to related problems, possibly with LandRover, Porsche, Georg Fischer, and others; and in consulting, the potential application of software modules together with industrial partners.
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