Durability of Turbine Engine Materials/Advandced Material Test Methods for Improved Life Predictions of Turbine Engine Components

Brystin Research and Development, Inc. (BRDI) and its subcontractors have successfully completed a Phase I SBIR evaluation of existing test automation software and training tools. The results of this evaluation show that there is substantial potential toreduce material and product development cycle time through the use of more sophisticated automation systems and better learning and training methods. Advanced instrumentation and methodologies produce more information of higher quality from a given test,leading to better understanding of the damage and failure processes involved. Improved learning and training methods maximize the understanding and capability of researchers and technicians. This leads to higher test throughput and further improvesinformation quality.We used Phase I results to devise a comprehensive development plan for WinMATE, an advanced test automation package and set of sophisticated learning tools. We have obtained commitments from industry leading companies for substantial assistance andsupport throughout the Phase II SBIR activity. We propose to use the combination of our development plan, substantial industry experience and financial commitment to produce a complete, sophisticated test automation system including learning and trainingtools. These products will greatly reduce material and product development cycle time and cost both in Government and commercial applications.