Affiliations: [a] Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
| [b] Galgotias University, Greater Noida, India
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Ashok Saxena, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA. E-mail: asaxena@uark.edu.
Abstract: Time-dependent fracture mechanics (TDFM) is used to predict the remaining life and safe inspection intervals as part of maintenance programs for components operating in harsh, high temperature environments. The influence of creep deformation and time-dependent damage accumulation presents very significant challenges in accurately predicting life of these components. A critical assessment of the current state-of-the-art of TDFM concepts, test techniques and analytical procedures is made to demonstrate the potential of this technology. In addition, future developments needed to enhance the application of this technology to interface with field data and online data from sensors to improve prognostics and assure reliable performance are discussed in this paper.
