FINITE-ELEMENT MODELS FOR SUPPORTABILITY OF UNITED STATES AIR FORCE (USAF) AIRCRAFT STRUCTURES

THE FEASIBILITY OF A CENTRALIZED FINITE ELEMENT MODELING AND ANALYSIS DATA BASE SYSTEM FOR THE SUPPORT OF UNITED STATES AIR FORCE (USAF) AIRCRAFT STRUCTURES WILL BE ASSESSED. THE CENTRALIZED SYSTEM MUST BE ABLE TO OBTAIN, DEVELOP, MODIFY, EVALUATE, CERTIFY, AND APPLY THESE FINITE ELEMENT MODELS IN AN EFFICIENT MANNER. THE CURRENT SYSTEM WILL BE STUDIED TO ASSESS CURRENT METHODOLOGY AND IDENTIFY DESIGN AND ANALYSIS REQUIREMENTS. SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE TOOLS AND THEIR UTILIZATION TO SOLVE ENGINEERING PROBLEMS WILL BE EXAMINED SO THAT THEIR POTENTIAL FUNCTION IN A CENTRALIZED SYSTEM CAN BE DEFINED. COSTS OF THE CURRENT SYSTEM WILL ALSO BE ESTIMATED. IF A CENTRALIZED SYSTEM IS FEASIBLE THEN A DESIGN SPECIFICATION WILL BE WRITTEN BY PDA.PDA WILL ALSO SHOW THE UTILITY OF A CENTRALIZED SYSTEM BY ADDRESSING FINITE ELEMENT MODEL GEOMETRY AND DISCRETIZATION MODIFICATION AND LOAD APPLICATION TO VARIOUS MESHES.