news 2003

 

Press Release, Sheffield, UK, 3rd September 2003:

Safe Technology Releases NASTRAN Interface to fe-safe™

Safe Technology announce the release of another FEA interface for fe-safe™, further increasing the neutrality of their suite of durability analysis software for finite element models.

fe-safe™ v5.00-11, is now available with a direct interface to the NASTRAN OUTPUT2 file format. This is a major sub-release of fe-safe™v5, released by Safe Technology in January.

This new development means that fe-safe™ now uniquely offers direct interfaces to the following FEA file formats:

Other new developments also now incorporated in fe-safe™v5.00-11 are:

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Press Release, Sheffield, UK, 23rd May 2003:

New fe-safe™ software incorporates Serco's TURBOlife™ creep-fatigue software.

Safe Technology has announced a new partnership with Serco Assurance to incorporate Serco's TURBOlife™ creep fatigue damage software into fe-safe™, Safe Technology's leading edge durability analysis software for FE models.

TURBOlife assesses creep and fatigue damage individually and the known effects of their interaction on component durability. By incorporating TURBOlife™ into fe-safe™, fe-safe/TURBOlife™ will be able to differentiate between crack initiation hot-spots by the mechanisms of creep, fatigue or creep fatigue interaction and produce creep-fatigue contour maps for component design and failure analysis. fe-safe/TURBOlife™ will be sold and supported separately from the standard fe-safe™ suite by Safe Technology.

The technology behind TURBOlife™ is based on ductility exhaustion methods of which the R5 assessment procedure is an example used extensively in the power industry. TURBOlife™ has already been used in the power generation, gas turbine and automotive industries. fe-safe/TURBOlife™ will be aimed primarily at these industries although any industry where components operate hot and cyclically with variable amplitudes of mechanical stress and thermal stress will benefit from this technology (e.g. IC engines, gas turbines, turbochargers, power stations both nuclear and fossil).

fe-safe/TURBOlife™ can be used for new design or life extension analyses. Residual life analyses play an essential part in the maintenance and development of components in a number of industries. Recent changes in the operating rationale of power stations from base load to demand following means that gas turbines and boilers are now operating beyond their design basis. Increasingly demanding emission legislation in the automotive industry means that engine components are operating hotter. fe-safe/TURBOlife™ provides a unique and validated tool to meet these technical challenges.

Creep fatigue contour plot from fe-safe/TURBOlife™

Serco Assurance is a leading provider of safety, risk assessment and engineering services with over 40 years experience helping industry worldwide. Serco Assurance has played an important role in extensive collaborative research into thermal-mechanical, creep-fatigue damage mechanisms by the UK power generation sector over the past 20 years. TURBOlife™ was developed to extend the ductility exhaustion assessment methods that came out of this research into a commercial suite of software for on-line and off-line monitoring. In support of this high temperature assessment technology Serco Assurance operate a comprehensive materials test laboratory.

Safe Technology is the technical leader in the design and development of durability analysis software. fe-safe™ – state-of-the-art durability analysis software for FE models developed by Safe Technology - is currently used by over 100 companies worldwide as their standard durability analysis package including Caterpillar, Cummins, International Truck & Engines, Dana, SKF and Rolls Royce. fe-safe™ allows fast, easy and accurate fatigue life predictions for FE models, includes a full signal processing suite and advanced loading definition and analysis capabilities. The new user interface ensures that users do not have to be specialist engineers to reap the full benefits of using fe-safe™.

For more information on fe-safe/TURBOlife™, please contact Stephanie Wood.

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Press Release, Sheffield, UK, 23rd May 2003:

AVL Engine Dynamics Simulation Software to include fe-safe™ as its integrated fatigue analysis capability.

AVL List GmbH and Safe Technology Ltd announce that Safe Technology's newly released fe-safeLE™ suite of fatigue analysis software for finite element models, will be incorporated into the mathematical simulation software AVL EXCITE. It will be used in the development of engine and powertrain systems as part of AVL’s integrated durability and NVH analysis platform.

fe-safeLE™ is a lite version of the fatigue analysis software for FE models, fe-safe™. Within the AVL suite of software, it will be known as AVL EXCITE Fatigue. The software has been designed to provide a low cost but accurate fatigue analysis capability for high cycle fatigue conditions. The user will be able to apply a range of loading conditions, choose from a selection of stress based fatigue algorithms and use the standard fe-safe™ materials database. Users will also be able to define different materials and influence factors for different element groups. High temperature fatigue analysis is included.

The partnership between AVL and Safe Technology allows for the effective combination of the leading edge technology found in both the fe-safe™ and AVL EXCITE software packages. AVL EXCITE Fatigue offers unique fatigue analysis capabilities to the engine and powertrain industries. It will enable users to calculate excitation loads close to actual loads and perform fatigue analysis for engine components within the same environment.

"AVL and Safe Technology are two very like-minded companies in that we are both technology and industry led. The partnership will enable us to offer our customers a unique and unrivalled type of analysis", said John Draper, Managing Director, Safe Technology Ltd.

Gotthard Rainer, Vice President of AVL’s business unit Advanced Simulation Technologies, states: “Safe Technology has proven to be a competent and professional partner, specialising in fatigue and durability software development and application. The integration of AVL EXCITE Fatigue into our durability and NVH platform is a further step in providing our users with the simulation capabilities needed to gain reliable results within a short project lead time.

Safe Technology's suite of durability analysis software, fe-safe™, is regarded as the natural choice for vehicle and engine designers/manufacturers because of its unique and advanced capabilities in the areas of multiaxial fatigue and complex loading conditions. It also offers unique capabilities for grey iron, thermo-mechanical fatigue and high temperature fatigue analysis, as well as the quick and accurate analysis of cyclically symmetrical parts.

AVL EXCITE is the leading mathematical simulation software suite for durability and NVH analysis of entire power unit systems, components and exhaust systems. Outstanding physical and mathematical models enable the software to be used as a virtual test bench. The concept of a hybrid multi-body system consisting of linear elastic bodies and highly non-linear joints provide calculation results which are very close to the real operating hardware. AVL EXCITE is used by leading automotive companies and engine manufacturers as well as by their component and system suppliers.

About AVL
AVL is the world's largest privately owned and independent company for the development of gasoline, diesel, alternative fuel powertrain systems, as well as fuel cell and hybrid technologies. The company also manufactures powertrain instrumentation and test systems. Close co-operation with customers is guaranteed by affiliates and local offices worldwide. AVL's headquarters are located in Graz, Austria. AVL EXCITE is used by leading automotive companies and engine manufacturers as well as by their component and system suppliers.

For more information about AVL EXCITE Fatigue, please contact AVL List at ast@avl.com and www.avl.com.

About Safe Technology Ltd
Safe Technology Ltd is the technical leader in the design and development of durability analysis software. The company’s flagship product, fe-safe™, is already used by leading engine designers and manufacturers worldwide, including Cummins, Caterpillar, International Truck and Engine Co, Perkins Engines, Rolls Royce, Dana Spicer Driveshaft and GKN AutoStructures. Safe Technology is based in Sheffield, UK.

For more information about fe-safe™ and fe-safeLE™, please contact Safe Technology.

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Press Release, Sheffield, UK, 23rd May 2003:

Safe Technology provide new materials testing service

Safe Technology has announced a new commercial relationship with Serco Assurance to provide an enhanced materials testing service.

Serco Assurance is a group of 450 engineers and scientists who have contributed extensively to research projects in high temperature and creep fatigue. Serco operate a world-class materials testing and component testing laboratory for room temperature, thermo-mechanical and creep fatigue.

This laboratory will now become the standard test lab for Safe Technology's materials testing services.

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