winLIFE (Fatigue Life Information Finite Elements)

Our programme for calculating the fatigue life of components is called winLIFE. Different modules are available depending on the area of application.

FKM QUICKCHECK
For non-welded and welded components:

Static proof according to FKM: Fatigue strength proof and dimensional strength proof according to FKM for proportional cases.

For welded and non-welded components:
Fatigue strength proof (also non-proportional): Simple proof under worst case assumptions (not according to FKM)

BASIC
Basic module that supports the basic methods of fatigue life calculation and is sufficient for most cases of fatigue life issues. A connection to FEM programmes is given.

MULTIAXIAL
Extension to the multi-axial case. Up to 200 parallel load-time functions can be used by scaling unit load cases using the load-time functions.
In the case of non-linear systems and/or non-negligible inertial forces, the stress-tensor-time functions can be used node-related for a fatigue life calculation.
Reading in the strains of rosettes, procedure for calculation time reduction.

MULTIAXIAL MULTICORE
Use of all processor cores by parallelising the calculation. Increase of the computing speed e.g. by a factor of 5 with 8 cores. Only useful for multi-axial calculations, as only there do computing time problems occur.

RANDOM FATIGUE
Based on the results of a dynamic excitation, which is specified e.g. by the power density spectrum of the acceleration, a fatigue life calculation is performed.  

CRACKGROWTH
Calculation of crack propagation in mode 1 (normal stress) under the effect of nominal stresses.

GEARWHEEL&BEARING
This is an additional winLIFE module for calculating the fatigue life of gearwheels and bearings.

VIEWER4WINLIFE
Graphical representation of the results as isosurfaces on the surface of the 3D model.

STATISTIC
Additional module to investigate the statistical relationships between important properties of fatigue parameters.

Interfaces to FE Programmes

Ansys
ANSYS data can be read in and used directly in winLIFE, conveniently quickly and at the push of a button. Extensive ANSYS macros are also provided in source code for data transfer to winLIFE. The macros can be used under Workbench and Classic. The experienced ANSYS user can modify and extend the macros.  

FEMAP
We have a very powerful interface to FEMAP which is supplied with winLIFE.

NX, Nastran
NX Nastran files (op2 and dat) can be read and used directly in winLIFE, conveniently, quickly and at the push of a button. An interface is also available via the winLIFE CDI (Custom Designable Interface) to perform actions within NX Nastran.

PERMAS
PERMAS files (post) can be read in and used directly in winLIFE, conveniently, quickly and at the push of a button. An interface is also available via the winLIFE CDI (Custom Designable Interface) to perform actions within PERMAS.

OptiStruct
Optistruct files (op2 and fem) can be read and used directly in winLIFE, which is comfortable, fast and at the push of a button. An interface is also available via the winLIFE CDI (Custom Designable Interface) to perform actions within OptiStruct.

RecurDyn
RecurDyn files (dat and src) can be read and used directly in winLIFE, conveniently, quickly and at the push of a button. An interface is also available via the winLIFE CDI (Custom Designable Interface) to perform actions within RecurDyn.

ADAMS
ADAMS files (dat and asc) can be read and used directly in winLIFE, conveniently, quickly and at the push of a button. An interface is also available via the winLIFE CDI (Custom Designable Interface) to perform actions within ADAMS.

ABAQUS
ABAQUS data can be read in and used directly in winLIFE, which is conveniently, quickly and at the push of a button. An interface is also available via the winLIFE CDI (Custom Designable Interface) to perform actions within ABAQUS.

ADINA
The interface is implemented via the winLIFE CDI (Custom Designable Interface) and described with an example.

Other FE programmes
Virtually all FE programmes can write the stress tensor to an external file. winLIFE has a flexible interface for reading in this data (CDI) and thus provides the prerequisite for a fatigue life calculation.

Other Software

Data from the following software is used by our customers together with winLIFE: MATLAB, FAMOS, LMS-Road-Runner, Diadem and of course our software winEVA (powertrain simulation) and winADAM (measurement data acquisition).