Durability Analysis

All products, designs and structures must comply with guidelines, DIN and ISO standards and thus also with safety requirements. Consequently, engineers seek to detect and eliminate any potential weak points at a very early stage of component development. Durability tests enable them to identify such points at a very early stage. Such tests can analysis and improve the structural and cyclic strength of a design. This ensures product safety at an early stage and minimises the number of cost-intensive laboratory experiments and tests with prototypes. Durability tests often also reveal potential material and weight savings.

TECOSIM uses finite element analysis to carry out durability tests according to customer- or product-specific requirements and in compliance with accepted guidelines and DIN and ISO standards. Tests verify the conditions under which the material threshold values are exceeded. A distinction is made between structural and cyclic strength. The results of calculations include items such as all underlying material data, safety factors for static or cyclic stress, analysis parameters and stress visualisations for parts subject to high stress. In addition to stress and strain relationship concepts, other special theories are also applied in calculating component connections such as joints, welding and bonding.

The structural strength analysis verifies whether the component or the system is able to withstand the expected structural loads. These also include special loads or loads caused by misuse. Analysis criteria typically include permitted deformations, expansion and stresses.

The strength analysis for cyclic loads, that is to say, operating loads, is based on operational stability calculation or fracture mechanics calculation, depending on the aim of the test. An operational stability calculation determines, above all, service life until damage is sustained. In contrast, linear fracture mechanics calculations are used to determine the progression of damage and the remaining service life of a component.

Besides actual loads – operating loads, special loads or loads due to misuse - specific constant pre-loads can also be taken into account during the analysis. These occur during the manufacturing or assembly process, for example.