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The 3-D CAD/CAE geometry, material, coating and auxiliary data, maintenance and operational profiles and environmental data are all provided as input to a combined physics-based, statistical and heuristically reasoning engine running on a Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) parallel processing system to perform time dependent simulation as to the deterioration of the geometry over time.
The detailed 3-D CAD/CAE geometry model of the vehicle is imported into ACES using STEP format along with detail on part materials, coatings and auxiliary data such as the assembly sequence, all of which are typically excluded from the STEP file. An integrity check is then performed on the geometry and supporting data to insure that all the necessary information is present and that there is no missing or inconsistent data, such as non-manifold geometry. If the models contain missing geometric detail, it either adds/modifies the files to accommodate the discrepancy if possible or reports the problem back to the end-user for resolution.
The software is composed of an assembly of physics-based procedural algorithms, empirical-statistical models from test data and heuristic AI methods for representing knowledge from subject matter experts and lessons learned. Simulation prediction algorithms exist for the breakdown of various coating applications, galvanic influence proximity, surface area spread (and pattern) of corrosion over time, location of water collection areas and poultice entrapment areas, and the mechanism for corrosion in crevices.
The output from the simulator is the relative likelihood of corrosion over time which is color coded either as a progressive time line for a particular part, component or zone of the vehicle, or as a colorized degradation displayed on the 3-D geometry