Editor’s Pick: Database Has Material Data for Fatigue Analysis

Dear Desktop Engineering Reader:

Across the wires the other day came an interesting item from HBM-nCode, the developer of fatigue and durability and data analysis solutions, as well as complementary software systems for engineering data management, asset monitoring and materials selection and characterization. The company released what it calls a Premium Materials Database (PMD) for its nCode 10 suite of fatigue and durability analysis software. Among the solutions in the nCode suite are DesignLife for fatigue life prediction from finite element results, the GlyphWorks data processing system for engineering test data analysis and nCode Automation for automated data storage, analysis and reporting.

Now, HBM-nCode DesignLife already has a Materials Manager as part of its core functionality. With nCode 10, it now has data on over 400 materials. Through it you can add, edit and plot materials data. This is where the Premium Materials Database comes into play.

The issue PMD addresses is fairly simple conceptually. Engineers doing fatigue life predictions need specific and reliable materials data. But materials databases, whether off-the-shelf or on the Internet, tend to provide a lot of details on static mechanical properties but not much data on fatigue that is based on laboratory tests across a range of load levels. Consequently, you may open a joint checking account with some lab to do material tests for you so that you’ll have the fatigue curve data you need to calculate fatigue life and simulate fatigue failure. PMD is intended to provide you with reliable, high-quality material datasets with fatigue parameters. This of course can save you both time and money.

The first release of the Premium Materials Database in nCode 10 provides fatigue-centric property data on 72 materials, and the company says it plans to add 20 to 30 materials to the database each year. This initial release offers a set of fatigue properties for commonly used steels and aluminum alloys. The database identifies materials according to international standards like ISO and DIN whenever possible. The database also provides statistical estimates of scatter, which will help you assess reliability and certainty of survival percentages.

All the data in the database, says HBM-nCode, comes from tests performed at an ISO 9001-certified facility that it operates. Called the Advanced Materials Characterization & Test Facility, this testing installation, adds the company, performs many specialized testing projects for third parties like racing teams, aircraft component manufacturers and automotive OEMs. All of its test equipment is calibrated to United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) standards by accredited bodies, according to HBM-nCode.

Current nCode 10 users will be interested in knowing that the Premium Materials Database is available through nCode CDS (Complete Durability System) licensing and can be downloaded from the nCode support portal. For you who do not know, the nCode CDS is a licensing method for users to access nCode products like DesignLife, GlyphWorks and Automation Personal Edition with “CDS units,” a leased form of access for each product option. This approach lets you use whatever option you want in whatever combination of product options you need without fussing with determining the exact features you may need someday or the number of users who will need access to the features.

You can learn more about the Premium Materials Database from today’s Pick of the Week write-up. Make sure to set aside some time to take in the on-demand webinar “Fatigue Curves & Material Datasets” linked to after the end of the main write-up (registration required). It runs about 25 minutes long and provides an overview of how fatigue curves are defined and how you use them. A discussion of the new Premium Materials Database for nCode 10 begins at around the 9-minute mark, and a narrated demonstration of it starts at around 22 minutes.

Thanks, Pal. — Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood

Editor at Large, Desktop Engineering

Read today’s pick of the week write-up.

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