ANNEX 2

NASGRO 5.x
User’s Manual
Introduction to version distributed
with ESACRACK

Prepared by: G. Sinnema (ESTEC/TEC-MCS)

F.M. Novo (ESTEC/TEC-MCS)

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1. INTRODUCTION

This Annex consists of an introduction to the Reference Manual of the NASGRO® Fracture
Mechanics and Fatigue Crack Growth Analysis Software, as distributed by ESA for application to
ESA projects.
The actual NASGRO 5.x manual is accessible in the software (‘Manual’ button of the Figure 1).

Figure 1. NASGRO main menu

DISCLAIMER
Although every effort was made in order to verify the correctness of the data and the results of the
program, neither the EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY nor any person acting on behalf of the Agency
assumes any liability for the use of any information, method or process contained in this document
and in the software; nor makes any warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to its accuracy,
completeness or usefulness. The user should personally verify the correctness of the results.
2. NASGRO 5.X OVERVIEW

NASGRO is a suite of programs used to:

• analyze fatigue crack propagation and fracture mechanics to perform assessments of structural
life (NASFLA, NASSIF, NASCCS and NASGLS modules),
• process and store fatigue crack growth properties (NASMAT module),
• analyze fatigue crack formation (initiation) (NASFORM module), and
• compute stresses and stress intensity factors (NASBEM module).

The software was originally developed at the NASA Johnson Space Center to perform fracture
control analysis on NASA space systems. A growing interest in NASGRO among a variety of
industrial users motivated NASA to develop a new partnership with industry. In July of 2000, NASA
and Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) signed a Space Act Agreement under which SwRI
formed and manages the NASGRO Consortium to provide guidance and support for future
development and user services.
The European Space Agency (ESA) provided additional technical contributions.

ESA distributes the NASGRO software for application to ESA projects (a pop-up asks the user for
confirmation before launching the software, as shown in Figure 2). To obtain licenses for other
applications refer to www.nasgro.swri.org.

Figure 2 – Confirmation window

3. HOW TO USE NASGRO 5.X WITH ESALOAD

The option to directly use the 'standard' ESALOAD stress spectrum in NASGRO (NASFLA) is not
implemented in the released versions of ESACRACK 4.x.y.
With the current ESALOAD version therefore the stress spectrum files conversion program
LOAD2NAS is provided (see Figure 3), that transforms the standard (11 columns) ESALOAD
spectrum format into the NASGRO 'long blocks' (9 columns) format, and adds a block name and
title.
The user is referred to the 'Help' information of LOAD2NAS for more detailed information (and also
e.g. the NASGRO manual for details of the NASGRO file format)
Note: currently, the spectrum files converter can be launched from within ESALOAD or as a
separate program.

Figure 3 - Load2Nas Main Menu

In Figure 4 it is shown how a spectrum created in ESALOAD (after conversion) can be introduced
into the fatigue crack growth module (NASFLA) of NASGRO 5.x.
After defining the geometry data and the material data, selecting the ' Define Spectrum' tab from
the main NASFLA menu opens the menu shown in Figure 4.
The option 'Select file(s) containing long block(s)’ can be used to introduce ESALOAD spectra
(converted using the LOAD2NAS spectrum files converter).
The following input can be specified for each block (the number of blocks can be selected at the
left hand top of the menu):
• Spectrum filename (‘Select file’ button);
• Scaling factors for each block (at least one should be different from zero);
• Limit stresses for each block (optional, but they should be different from zero when selected);
• Keac for the material (optional, it should be different from zero when selected).

After this information has been completed for all blocks of the spectrum, the computation can be
continued.
In most cases the complete spectrum is already defined in the spectrum file generated by
ESALOAD (converted to ‘long block’ format). The spectrum will then consist of just one block.

Figure 4 – Menu to introduce ESALOAD spectrum to NASGRO

Various comments:
• The residual stress option for welds, which was implemented in the ESACRACK 3 version of
NASGRO, could not yet be implemented in the current version of ESACRACK 4.x.y. The user
is referred to ESACRACK 3.01a for the latest version containing this option.
• The NASGRO 5.x software does not apply the factor 0.7 on average toughness values, as
required in ECSS-E-30-01A (it was included in previous versions of NASGRO, distributed with
ESACRACK, see e.g. TOS-MCS/2000/41/ln). This has to be implemented by the user. The
following options are available to achieve this:
• Define Keac to include the factor 0.7 on KC. Note that the number to be used depends on the
thickness and whether the failure occurs as surface crack or through crack. It may require a
 few iterations to achieve a correct calculation (it can be helpful to use the value of KC
provided in the NASGRO output - beware of potential transition to other crack geometry).
According to section 2.1.5 of the manual, KC can be any of the following, depending on the
crack geometry:
• KC derived from KIC (corrected for thickness);
• KIC;
• KIE;
• KIE*1.1 (for crack tip at free surface).
Note: Also net-section stress must be considered in residual strength calculation.
• Modify the material properties KIC and KIE to include the factor 0.7. Note that this may be
too conservative, because the crack-growth rate equation includes also KC which is derived
from KIC or KIE.
• The NASGRO 5.x software does not include a warning that KC calculated for very small
thickness (typically t<2mm) may be unconservative (it was included in previous versions of
NASGRO, distributed with ESACRACK, see e.g. TOS-MCS/2000/41/ln). The user has to keep
this in mind and verify the validity.
• Standard NASA crack sizes are not fully in line with those defined in table 1 of ECSS-E-30-
01A. Exceptions are to be manually introduced:
• standard crack size for titanium penetrant inspection;
• surface crack, penetrant inspection (a/c=0.2): a=0.81mm, c=4.05mm.