Data Base R&D for Unified Life Cycle Engineering

Unified life cycle engineering should encompass designing for performance, producibility, and supportability in an interactive mode. It will combine computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided manufacturing (CAM) with supportability concerns such as inspection, corrosion protection, repair, and replacement. This new engineering approach will deal with these parameters in the design process from a total life cycle standpoint.

The development of such an approach will require the integration of existing data bases and the development of new information sources. Today's data bases are not sufficient in scope nor do they meet the statistical requirements for such a concept. No system automatically prompts the user with the warning notes and “do's and don't's” that must be considered to prevent an unintentioned misuse of materials property data. Rapidly locating and accessing the needed range of diverse information and making it available for intelligent, interactive use by the designer presents a significant challenge.