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Fracture Evaluation and Design Tool for Welded Aluminum Ship Structures Subjected to Impulsive Dynamic Loading

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Navy
Contract: N00014-10-M-0254
Agency Tracking Number: N10A-041-0527
Amount: $99,982.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: STTR
Solicitation Topic Code: N10A-T041
Solicitation Number: 2010.A
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2010
Award Year: 2010
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2010-06-28
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2011-08-19
Small Business Information
11 Alscot Drive
East Lyme, CT 06333
United States
DUNS: 610056405
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Jim Lua
 President
 (609) 356-5115
 jlua@gem-consultant.com
Business Contact
 Jim Lua
Title: President
Phone: (609) 356-5115
Email: jlua@gem-consultant.com
Research Institution
 The University of TX at EL PASO
 Jack Chessa
 
Dept. of Mechanical Engineerin 500 W. University Ave.
EL Paso, TX 79968
United States

 (915) 747-6900
 Nonprofit College or University
Abstract

A software tool for fracture evaluation and load deflection prediction of welded aluminum ship structures subjected to impulsive loading will be developed by enhancing and integrating an existing extended finite element method (XFEM) for dynamic fracture of thin shells in Abaqus. The software package will be able to model arbitrary crack paths as dictated by the physics of the scenario, completely independent of the mesh. This will be accomplished by adding discontinuous displacement and velocity fields arbitrarily within the shell elements via two superposed elements with a set of phantom degrees of freedoms. Explicit time integration with one point quadrature scheme and an hourglass control will be implemented to further simplify the treatment of cracked elements and provide consistent history variables for nonlinear material models. A modified Johnson-Cook model coupled with a nonlocal fracture criterion will be implemented to capture an anisotropic and rate dependent nonlinear material behavior and its associated damage initiation. Global Engineering and Materials, Inc. (GEM) has secured commitments for technical support from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and Professor Ted Belytschko from Northwestern University (NWU). Dr. Belytschko will provide GEM his stand alone explicit dynamic XFEM tool for shells.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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