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

ASTRON RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING PROPOSES TO ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY OF IMPLEMENTING A USAF-WIDE DATABASE OF FINITE ELEMENT MODELS FOR THE SUPPORTABILITY OF STRUCTURES OF USAF AIRCRAFT. THIS STUDY WILL INCLUDE (1) AN EXAMINATION OF VARIOUS AIR FORCE ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR CURRENT METHODS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR FINITE ELEMENT MODEL DEVELOPMENT, ANALYSIS, AND DATA TRANSFER, (2) A SURVEY OF THE AVAILABLE SOFTWARE WHICH MAY BE USED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CENTRALIZED FINITE ELEMENT DATABASE, (3) A SPECIFICATION OF THE NECESSARY SOFTWARE AND SOFTWARE INTERFACES REQUIRED FOR CREATING THIS DATABASE, (4) A PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTING THE DATABASE, AND (5) AN ASESSMENT OF THE RELATIVE COSTS FOR DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THE DATABASE USAF-WIDE. BOTH TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE BENEFITS WILL BE CONSIDERED IN THE ASSESSMENT OF THE FEASIBILITY OF THE CENTRALIZED DATABASE.