Abstract
Current economic challenges as well as requirements arising from environmental protection aspects enforce manufacturers and operators of technical systems to search for innovative solutions. This especially applies to components subjected to alternating loads.
A safe but also efficient operation of components requires that the loads encountered during operation are continuously recorded in order to be able to evaluate or predict their lifetime consumption.
A long operation time requires that the whole lifetime period is controlled by appropriate monitoring systems. In cases where cracks and crack growth are acceptable or even inevitable, the lifetime assessment procedure can be combined with suitable crack growth monitoring systems and (fracture mechanics) evaluation procedures.
CPS, as an acronym for Control, Perspective and Strategy, is a software tool which is intended for monitoring an arbitrary large number of subsystems of a complex technical system, e.g. a power plant. Thereby, any subcomponent subjected to alternating loads, e.g. pipe or some other kind of mechanical component, can be evaluated with regard to fatigue as well as crack growth. This contribution strives to show how a safe and efficient long term operation can be achieved while also considering the results of non-destructive testing (NDT) obtained from the corresponding operation accompanying processes.
