NIST WTC Project. Impact analyses will be conducted at various levels including the component level, the subassembly level, and the global level to estimate the probable damage to the towers due to aircraft impact. ARA has over 20 years experience in crash, impact, and blast damage of structures. This experience includes analysis of aircraft impact into nuclear power plant containment structures and storage containers, analysis of a fighter aircraft impact into multiple reinforced concrete barriers, and fragmentation of aircraft components due to turbine rotor failure.

Damage and Failure Modeling of Composite Materials. Composite materials have a complex range of damage and failure behaviors as a result of their inhomogenious composition and anisotropic properties. ARA has experience with testing and modeling of damage and failure for a wide range of applications with composite materials and structures. These include both polymer and metal matrix composites for a wide range of static and dynamic loading conditions.

Failure Analysis of Steel Weldments. Weldment are often the critical locations in steel structures and weldment design is, therefore, important for structural integrity. The objective of this program was to investigate dynamic fracture of metal weldments and develop modeling capabilities that can be used to analyze fracture strength and to design different weldment geometries.

Failure Analysis of Solder Joints. Failure of solder joints can be an important issue for the reliability of electronic components. Typical solder joint failures are caused by fatigue under thermal and mechanical cycling. In this study, three-dimensional finite element analyses were combined with constitutive modeling of solder and fatigue life analyses to investigate solder joint reliability.

Hazard Assessment for Damaged Tank Cars.A concern for salvage operations following a train accident or derailment is the safety of pressure tank cars that have been damaged. The objective of this study was to validate and formalize the guidelines for salvage of damage tank cars. This study included experiments and analyses on tank cars and tank car steels to establish safe loading conditions for various types and levels of damage.

Crashworthiness and Transportation Safety. Vehicles and transportation systems are becoming increasingly safe due to advances in crashworthiness design and analyses. We have performed a variety of studies related to the crash response of vehicles, occupant safety, and impacts on right-of-way structures. These studies include crash testing, analytical crash modeling, and detailed finite element simulations. Applications include both highway and rail transportation.

Impact and Penetration Problems. Analysis of impact and penetration is an important issue for a wide range of problems. These range from protection against an external impact, such as in armor systems, to containment of an internal hazard, such as a turbine or flywheel failure. ARA has a wide range of experience in the analyses of impact and penetration.

Damage Modeling in Blood for Medical Applications. Blood damage can be a critical issue for the design and application of blood pumps in medical procedures. We are using advanced CFD codes to calculate the flow of blood through pumps combined with blood damage models to predict hemolysis. The resulting tools can be used to evaluate and optimize a blood pump to both minimize blood damage and optimize pump performance.

Analysis and Design of Aircraft Engine Fragment Barriers.