Battelle’s world-class expertise in fatigue and fracture delivers solutions to problems that plague aging structures, predicting failures and improving integrity and safety for the transportation, defense, and consumer products industries.

OUR APPROACH

From risk assessments for aging aircraft, to rehabilitating transportation structures, to improving the design and fabrication of new consumer products and capital intensive structures such as ships, pipelines, and power generation facilities, Battelle’s services in probabilistic mechanics and fatigue/fracture are best in class. For more than 25 years, we have led the industry in the development and application of probabilistic mechanics models to improve structural integrity, control risk and maintain safety in systems as complex as the space shuttle main engines and as critical as natural gas pipelines. Our team of some of the most recognized leaders in the scientific community is known for in-depth understanding of the design and analysis of materials and structures, the response of materials to external forces and loads, and how damage initiates, accumulates, and grows during the lifetime of a material or structure. In order to assess and control the risk of structural failure due to fatigue or fracture, we take into account the uncertainty in material properties, the loadings and resulting damage mechanisms, and environmental factors. As a result, we help clients design and build systems and structures with improved integrity and safety. Our services also help clients lower operating and maintenance cost and accurately predict fatigue life and fracture locations.

Core competencies in probabilistic mechanics and fatigue/fracture include:

• Probabilistic Mechanics - Developed probabilistic methods to perform risk assessment of widespread fatigue damage in aging aircraft for the FAA; created probabilistic analysis tools determine stress-corrosion cracking in gas pipelines for a consortium of industry and government agencies, and perform probabilistic damage analysis for NASA.  These methodologies have been applied to composite structures used in space, for armored vehicles, welded structures, and missile systems.
• Computational Mechanics - A world leader in the development of computational mechanics tools and methodologies used for three dimensional crack growth analysis (FRAC@ALT), weld and stress assessment (Verity™) and structural fabrication (VFT™).  Damage assessments are predominantly conducted using a probabilistic analysis tool for life prediction and risk assessment known as TRACLIFE.
• Engineering Mechanics - Battelle has a full range of experience and expertise in engineering mechanics that is utilized by industry for linear and non-linear dynamic and fracture analyses, cyclic dynamic loading damage, cracks initiation and growth due to variable amplitude loading, rain-flow cycle counting, linear and nonlinear finite element analysis for structures, welds, and heat transfer.

Specialized Equipment:

• Material Testing Laboratories and Machine Shop - Functional fatigue lab, SEM for fractographic analysis, and machine shop for fabrication and prototyping of specialty materials.
• Virtual Welding Laboratory - Battelle’s Center for Welded Structures Research has developed a unique suite of advanced computational simulation tools to address the shortcomings of existing commercial CAE/CAM products.  Battelle’s simulation tools have been proven highly effective in both trouble-shooting on production floors and in new product development in areas such as weld design optimization, weld characterization, welding procedure development, and performance evaluation.