LifeTime Manual

Version 7.
LifeTime Users Manual
Version 7.7
May 2008
Galway Technology Park, Parkmore, Galway, Ireland T: +353 91 781010 F: +353 91 781020 E: Galway@mcs.com
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION ................................................... 1 Overview ..............................................................................1
Operation Mode 1 ................................................................ 2 Fatigue Analysis Methods......................................................... 3 Operation Mode 2 ................................................................ 4
Manual Organisation ..............................................................5 CHAPTER 2 - OPERATION.......................................................... 7 Introduction..........................................................................7 LifeTime Inputs .....................................................................8 Top Menu Bar...................................................................... 10
File......................................................................................10 Run .....................................................................................10 Modules ...............................................................................10 View ....................................................................................11 Help ....................................................................................12
LifeTime - Reference ............................................................ 13

Title - Specify .......................................................................14 Seastate File- Specify.............................................................15 Mode ...................................................................................16 SN Curve Linear - Data ........................................................17 SN Curve Piecewise Linear ...................................................19
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SN Curve Data Pairs ........................................................... 21 Stress Spectra Define ......................................................... 22 Hot Spots Define................................................................ 24 Hot Spots Histogram Data ................................................... 25 Hot Spots Fatigue Data ....................................................... 27 Channels Define................................................................. 29 Histogram Output Specify.................................................... 30 Bins - Define ........................................................................ 31 Define Stress Properties ........................................................ 33 File Type ............................................................................. 36
Stress Histograms ............................................................... 37 CHAPTER 3 - MODE 1 EXAMPLE APPLICATION.........................41 Riser and Environment......................................................... 41 LifeTime Analyses ............................................................... 42 Base Case Analysis .............................................................. 43 Sensitivity Analysis #1 Effect of PDF ................................... 46 Sensitivity Analysis #2 Effect of Endurance Limit ................................................................................. 46 Sensitivity Analysis #3 Effect of Thickness Effects ............................................................................... 47 Example Files ..................................................................... 47 CHAPTER 4 - MODE 2 EXAMPLE APPLICATION.........................49 Riser and Environment......................................................... 49
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LifeTime Mode 2 Analysis ...................................................... 49 Example Files ...................................................................... 52
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Chapter 1 - Introduction
CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Users Manual for LifeTime, the Flexcom fatigue postprocessor and general cycle counting tool. This Introduction provides an overview of LifeTime, and describes the content of the Users Manual. This is done in two sections, as follows: Overview provides an overview of the operation of LifeTime and explains how you run Mode 1 and Mode 2 analyses. Manual Organisation summarises the contents of the remainder of this manual.
OVERVIEW LifeTime can operate in two ways - in the terminology used in the rest of this manual, we say LifeTime has two Modes of Operation, which are identified as Mode 1 and Mode 2. Mode 1 is the more usual method of running the program, and is used to compute fatigue life estimates from the results of Flexcom random sea dynamic analyses. The different methods used by the program to accomplish this task are detailed later in this section. In the second mode of operation, LifeTime can be used as a general cycle counting tool. The input in this case is a random response time history or histories, typically Flexcom random sea analysis timetrace output. However you can use LifeTime to cycle count any time history data organised in a format which mimics the Flexcom timetrace output format. The LifeTime Mode 2 output is simply response histograms.
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Operation Mode 1
The steps in performing a fatigue (Mode 1) analysis with LifeTime are as follows:
Step 1:
Perform a Flexcom random sea analysis for each fatigue seastate. In setting up each analysis, you request timetrace output of axial force, Y bending moment and Z bending moment at each location (hot spot) of interest. You can also optionally request any other timetrace output of interest. It is not necessary for the Flexcom analyses to generate database output, although they can do so.
Step 2:
Specify the fatigue analysis input data via the LifeTime GUI. The various GUI menus and the format of the data required in each are described in detail in the next chapter of the manual, but the actual data to be specified is summarised here to illustrate the program operation.
Fatigue seastate data: Here you list the names of the Flexcom random sea analyses, and tabulate the % occurrences of the corresponding seastates.
Fatigue data: Here you specify data such as the stress concentration factor and S-N curve to be used in the fatigue analysis. You also specify (i) the probability density function (pdf) to use in the fatigue calculations, whether Rayleigh or Dirliks; (ii) whether to use bending stresses only or combined bending and axial stresses; and (iii) whether to include thickness effects in the calculations and what threshold thickness to employ. Finally, this input category also includes a list of the actual fatigue hot spots of interest. Full details are provided in Chapter 2.
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Step 3
Run LifeTime. When running, the program loops over all seastates and all of the hot spots for which forces were output in the Flexcom analyses, and calculates fatigue damage using the methods to be described shortly. LifeTime creates three output files each time you run a Mode 1 analysis. The main analysis results are output to a file named jobname.lif, where jobname is the name of your LifeTime analysis. LifeTime also creates a debug output file named jobname.dbg, to which are routed results of the program intermediate calculations for each individual seastate (that is, each Flexcom analysis), for checking and interpreting the analysis results. A succinct summary output file is also created tabulating only the minimum fatigue life at each hot spot from each of the three LifeTime methods. This data is in a format suitable for importing into, say, Excel for subsequent plotting, and so the file is named jobname.plt.
Fatigue Analysis Methods
Three methods are used when you run a LifeTime Mode 1 analysis to calculate fatigue damage and fatigue life. These are: Calculating the standard deviation () and mean zero up-crossing period (Tz) of combined axial and bending stress directly from Flexcom time histories, and then calculating fatigue damage from these based on an assumption that stress peaks are distributed according to the Rayleigh probability density function (pdf). Calculating the spectrum of combined stress from the Flexcom time histories, and then evaluating the moments of this spectrum. These are then used to compute fatigue based on an assumption that stress peaks are distributed according to either the Rayleigh or Dirliks probability pdf. Calculating damage directly from the Flexcom stress histories using the rainflow cycle counting technique.
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Because combined stress varies throughout the cross-section, LifeTime actually applies the above three methods at 8 points, at 45 intervals, around the hot spot outer surface. So for each hot spot you nominate, a fatigue life estimate is actually calculated for 8 points around the circumference.
Operation Mode 2
The steps in performing a general cycle counting (Mode 2) analysis with LifeTime are as follows:
Step 1:
Perform a Flexcom random sea analysis for each fatigue seastate. In setting up each analysis, you again request timetrace output of the variable(s) of interest. Obviously for meaningful cycle counting the same variables should be nominated in all of the Flexcom runs.
Step 2:
Specify the fatigue analysis input data via the LifeTime GUI. The various GUI menus and format of the data required in each is described in detail in the next chapter of the manual, but again the actual required data is summarised here to illustrate the program operation.
Fatigue seastate data: As for Mode 1, you list the names of the Flexcom random sea analyses and tabulate the % occurrences of the corresponding seastates.
General data: Here you specify the variables (or channels) of the Flexcom timetrace output which you want cycle counted. You also specify the bins or divisions for the histogram output.
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Step 3:
Run LifeTime as previously. The main analysis results, histograms in this case, are now output to a file named jobname.bin. Again, LifeTime also creates a debug output file named jobname.dbg to which are routed results of the program intermediate calculations for each individual seastate (Flexcom analysis), for checking and interpreting the analysis results. MANUAL ORGANISATION The following is a list of the chapters which make up this manual, together with a brief description of the contents of each. Chapter 1 (this chapter), Introduction, provides a brief introduction to LifeTime and describes the program modes of operation and the Users Manual contents. Chapter 2, Operation, describes briefly how to perform a LifeTime analysis. A Reference section describes the required data inputs in full. Chapter 3, Mode 1 Example Application, describes in detail an example drilling riser fatigue analysis with LifeTime. Chapter 4, Mode 2 Example Application, describes in detail an example cycle counting (Mode 2) LifeTime analysis.
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Chapter 2 - Operation
CHAPTER 2 - OPERATION
Operation is a detailed guide to the operation of LifeTime. It comprises the following sections: Introduction gives an overview of the program operation. LifeTime Inputs gives a brief overview of the program inputs. Top Menu Bar describes the options in the LifeTime top menu bar. Reference describes in detail the data inputs to LifeTime on a menu-by-menu basis. Stress Histograms discusses LifeTime stress histogram output, and provides insights into the significance and use of some of the other input parameters relating to this type of output. INTRODUCTION You run LifeTime by clicking on the LifeTime button on the Flexcom Modules Sidebar. When you click on the LifeTime button the Working Area changes to that for LifeTime, as shown below.
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In addition to the above, there are a number of options on the top menu bar associated with performing a LifeTime analysis. These top menu bar options are described later. The next section summarises the LifeTime inputs in the above screen. LIFETIME INPUTS As you can see from the picture above, data input to LifeTime is divided into eleven sections; Title, Seastate File, Mode, Stress Data and SN Curve, Stress Spectra, Hot Spots, Channels, Histogram Output, Bins, Properties and File Type. The options in each are now briefly summarised. Title allows you to specify an optional title for your LifeTime analysis. The Seastate File section is used to specify the names of the Flexcom analyses that generated the stress data
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for the LifeTime analysis, together with the relative annual occurrences of the corresponding fatigue seastates. In Chapter 1 this is termed the analysis fatigue seastate data. The two LifeTime modes of operation were discussed in Chapter 1. The Mode section allows you to nominate the mode for a particular run. Certain subsequent input sections are specific to one or other mode. Stress Data is specific to Mode 1 analyses. It allows you to specify the stress concentration factor (SCF) to be used in your fatigue calculations; whether the analysis is to be based on combined stress or bending stresses only; and whether or not thickness effects are to be considered. Further details are in the Reference section to follow. The Stress Spectra section is also specific to Mode 1 analyses. You use it to specify a number of additional parameters relating to stresses, in particular the calculation of stress spectra. The final section specific to Mode 1 is Hot Spots. Here you identify the locations of interest (hot spots) in your model for which fatigue life predictions will be calculated. You can also specify whether or not you want LifeTime to generate a histogram of stress for each hot spot and if so, at what point on the cross-section circumference. Channels, which is the first section exclusive to Mode 2, allows you to nominate channels for cycle counting. Channel in this context refers to an individual variable in a Flexcom timetrace output file this is the same terminology as used in the Flexcom Reference Manual in relation to the operation of the Timetrace Postprocessor. Histogram Output, also Mode 2 specific, is used to specify the number of channels in the Flexcom timetrace files, a start time to exclude transient effects from the calculation, and a scale factor used to transform data in Flexcom units to appropriate units for the histogram output Bins is used to define bins or divisions for stress histogram output. It is common to both modes of operation. It is optional if you dont invoke this option LifeTime chooses suitable divisions. Properties allows you to enter alternative stress properties for sections within your model in the same manner as you might in the Flexcom Main Analysis module using the Properties Stress option.
The final section, File Type, is specific to Mode 2 analyses. It allows you to specify the format of the Flexcom timetrace output files. This may be ASCII, Import or Binary. TOP MENU BAR There are five options in the LifeTime top menu bar, namely File, Run, Modules, View and Help. This is identical to most other Flexcom modules.
File
The menu you get when you invoke the File option is shown below. The first four File menu items are for manipulating files in the standard ways. Exit closes down Flexcom.
Run
The Analysis menu is used to launch a LifeTime analysis once all the input data has been specified.
Clicking on LifeTime starts the fatigue analysis run. The fourth icon on the toolbar performs the same task.
Modules
The Modules menu, shown below, allows you to switch between the various Flexcom modules. It is functionally identical to the Modules Sidebar.
View
The View menu bar option allows you to examine various files associated with a LifeTime fatigue analysis run by opening them in the Viewer application. Viewer is discussed in more detail in Chapter 4 of the Flexcom Reference Manual.
Table 2.1 below tabulates the various files produced in a LifeTime analysis.
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Table 2.1. LifeTime GUI and Fatigue Analysis Files.

File Name jobname.lft jobname.sea jobname.lfk jobname.ver jobname.lif jobname.dbg jobname.plt jobname.bin GUI data file. Analysis input file (1) Fatigue seastate data. Analysis input file (2) Remaining data. Verification file. Main output file Mode 1. Debug output file Modes 1 & 2. Summary output file Mode 1. Main output file Mode 2. Description
Of these eight files, seven can be examined via the Viewer, the only exception being the GUI data file itself.
Help
The final top menu bar option, Help, is used to display on-line help (Help Topics) or information about the LifeTime/Flexcom version number and licence details (About Flexcom).
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LifeTime - Reference
Title - Specify
Mode: Purpose: Window:
Modes 1 and 2 To specify a title for your LifeTime analysis.
Data Inputs: Input: Title: Description A title for the LifeTime run. This entry is optional.
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Seastate File- Specify
Mode: Purpose:
Modes 1 and 2 To list the names of the Flexcom random sea analyses on which LifeTime fatigue calculations or cycle counting is to be based, and to tabulate the % occurrences of the corresponding seastates.
Window:
Data Inputs: Input: File Name: Description The generic name of the Flexcom analysis for a particular fatigue seastate. A file extension is not required. Percentage Occurrence: The percentage occurrence or the actual number of occurrences of this seastate per annum.
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Mode
Modes 1 and 2 To specify the mode or type of analysis you want LifeTime to perform.
Data Inputs: Notes: (a)
None
The two LifeTime modes of operation are described in Chapter 1 of this Users Manual. Mode 1 is the more usual method of running the program, and is used to compute fatigue life estimates from the results of Flexcom random sea dynamic analyses. In Mode 2, LifeTime can be used as a general cycle counting tool.
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SN Curve Linear - Data
Mode 1 only To specify a linear S-N curve.
Data Inputs: Input: Curve Name: Description A unique name for the S-N curve. A valid curve name can consist of up to 256 alphanumeric characters with blank spaces permitted. Curve names are not case sensitive. m: K: Endurance Limit: Notes (a) S-N curves are generally defined in the form NS =K where S denotes stress range, N the number of cycles to failure at this range, and m and K are constants. Taking logarithms of both sides and rearranging gives:
m
The first parameter defining the S-N curve. See Note (a) below. The second parameter defining the S-N curve. See Note (a) below. A stress range value below which no fatigue damage occurs, regardless of the number of cycles. See Note (b) below.
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logS =
1 1 logN + logK m m
which is the equation of a straight line when log S is plotted against log N. In this case m is the inverse slope and K is a function of the line intercept. These are the parameters input above. (b) The specification of an Endurance Limit is optional, and if omitted defaults to 0, that is, no endurance limit. (c) Use as many lines as you need to completely define a particular SN curve. Simply leave Column 1 blank for second and subsequent lines. For subsequent SN curves, put the curve name in Column 1 and specify the force-deflection data in the same way
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SN Curve Piecewise Linear
Mode 1 only To specify a piecewise linear S-N curve.
Data Inputs: Input: Curve Name: Description A unique name for the S-N curve. A valid curve name can consist of up to 256 alphanumeric characters with blank spaces permitted. Curve names are not case sensitive. m: K: N1: The first parameter defining the S-N curve. See Note (a) below. The second parameter defining the S-N curve. See Note (a) below. The number of cycles value defining the lower end of the line segment where these m and K values apply. N2: The number of cycles value defining the upper end of the line segment where these m and K values apply. Notes (a) A piecewise-linear S-N curve is one which plots as a series of straight line segments when log S is plotted against log N. In this case m and K vary between line segments;
the N1 and N2 values above specify the segment of the S-N curve X (number of cycles to failure) axis where each m and K combination apply. (b) Use as many lines as you need to completely define a particular S-N curve. Simply leave Column 1 blank for second and subsequent lines. For subsequent curves, put the curve name in Column 1 and specify the S-N data in the same way.
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SN Curve Data Pairs
Mode 1 only To specify a S-N curve directly.
Data Inputs: Input: Curve Name: Description A unique name for the S-N curve. A valid curve name can consist of up to 256 alphanumeric characters with blank spaces permitted. Curve names are not case sensitive. S: N: Notes: (a) Use as many lines as you need to completely define a particular S-N curve. Simply leave Column 1 blank for second and subsequent lines. For subsequent curves, put the curve name in Column 1 and specify the S-N data in the same way. A stress range value. The number of cycles to cause failure at this stress range
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Stress Spectra Define
Mode: Purpose:
Mode 1 only To specify a number of additional parameters relating to stresses in LifeTime, some (though not all) of which relate to the calculation of stress spectra.
Window:
Data Inputs: Input: Scale Factor for Stress: Description This is used to transform stresses in the Flexcom units to units consistent with the S-N curve data. For Imperial units, a value of 6.9444E-06 would be typical to transform lb/ft2 to ksi. For SI units, a value of 1.E-06 would be typical to transform N/m2 to MPa. In some cases LifeTime is in a position to decide the appropriate value to use, in which case the default value of 1 is appropriate. See Note (a) below. Start Time: This input is used to exclude initial transients from the fatigue calculations. Any data from solution times prior to this start time is ignored in the LifeTime calculations. Number of Ensembles: The number of ensembles to be used in calculating stress spectra. This number must be greater than 1, and in fact defaults to 4. The significance of this input here is the same as in the Flexcom Database Postprocessor and
Timetrace Postprocessor. Probability Density Function: A drop-down list which allows you to choose the probability density function (pdf) to be used in calculating fatigue life estimates from stress spectra.
Selecting Rayleigh (the default) selects the standard Rayleigh pdf, while selecting Dirlik selects the rainflow range proposed by Dirlik. This latter option is more appropriate when the stress spectra are broad banded (the Rayleigh pdf is narrow banded). Stress Histogram Range Index: An index for calculating equivalent ranges in stress histograms. The entry is optional, and if omitted, defaults to 1, in which case the equivalent range for each histogram bin is a simple average of the values of the stresses enclosing or defining that bin. The section Stress Histograms following this Reference section discusses stress histograms in more detail, and provides insights into the significance and use of some of the input parameters relating to this type of LifeTime output. Notes (a) Flexcom outputs the value you specify for g, the gravitational constant, to every analysis database. If any of the Flexcom analyses you list in your Seastate File Specify data generated a database file, then LifeTime retrieves this value and uses it to determine if you used Imperial or SI units in your data. Specifically, if 9 g 10 , then LifeTime decides you employed SI units; if 32 g 33 , then LifeTime decides you used Imperial units. In either case, LifeTime automatically determines the scale factor required to transform stresses to MPa or ksi as appropriate, so you do not need to specify a Scale Factor for Stress - just let LifeTime determine the appropriate scale. But if none of your Flexcom analyses generated a database, you should change from the default value of 1, unless this value is consistent with your S-N curve specification.
Hot Spots Define
Mode: Purpose:
Mode 1 only To specify the analysis hot spot sets; locations for which fatigue life estimates are required.
Window:
Data Inputs: Input: Set Name: Description A unique name for the hot spot set. A valid set name can consist of up to 256 alphanumeric characters with blank spaces permitted. Hot spot set names are not case sensitive. Elements: Local Node: The elements in this hot spot set. This drop-down menu offers a choice between three locations on the specified elements. First node refers to the first specified node of an element, Midpoint is self-explanatory, while Last node is the second specified node of an element.
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Hot Spots Histogram Data
Mode 1 only To specify histogram options for hot spots.
Data Inputs: Input: Set Name: Stress Histogram: Description The hot spot set for which you are defining histogram properties. This entry is a drop down menu for specifying whether or not you want LifeTime to generate a histogram of stress for each hot spot within this hot spot set.
If you choose No Stress Histogram (which is the default), no histogram is produced for any of the hot spots in the hot spot set, unless it happens to be the location of the minimum fatigue life predicted by the rainflow cycle counting method. Stress Point: This is an optional input to specify the point on the circumference (stress point) for which a stress histogram is to be produced. This input is invalid unless you selected Create Stress Histogram in the previous input. If no value
is input here, a histogram is produced for the stress point at which the predicted fatigue life is a minimum. Input a value between 1 and 8 to nominate a stress point. This corresponds to an angle measured in degrees anti-clockwise from the local element cross-section y-axis where 1 = 0, 2 = 45, 3 = 90, etc.
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Hot Spots Fatigue Data
Mode 1 only To specify fatigue data for a hot spot set.
Data Inputs: Input: Set Name: S-N Curve: SCF: Stress Type: Description The hot spot set to which the fatigue properties are to be assigned. The name of a defined S-N curve. The stress concentration factor (SCF) to be used in fatigue calculations. This entry is in fact a drop-down list which you use to nominate the type of stress to be used in the LifeTime fatigue calculations.
You can choose between bending stresses only, axial stresses only or combined bending and axial stresses, which is. the default. Threshold Thickness: Exponent: The threshold thickness for the inclusion of thickness effects. See Notes (a) and (b) below. The exponent value n used in the calculation of the stress multiplication
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factor when threshold thickness effects are included. Defaults to 4. See Notes (a) and (b) below. Notes: (a) The specification of a threshold thickness allows you to take account of the fact that the fatigue strength of some structural members can be dependent on material thickness, fatigue strength decreasing with increasing thickness. If you specify a threshold thickness, the stresses calculated by LifeTime are further multiplied by a factor f given by
t f = t b n
1
Here t b is the threshold thickness you specify; and t is the greater of t b and the actual thickness of the particular location under consideration (this ensures that f is always greater than or equal to 1). Note that although a single value of t b is input, f is naturally computed individually for each hot spot, since the structure thickness may vary from location to location. The exponent value n can also be specified and defaults to 4. (b) The specification of threshold thickness is optional. By default, thickness effects are ignored unless you explicitly specify a threshold thickness.
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Channels Define
Mode 2 only To specify channels for cycle counting.
Data Inputs: Input: Channel Number: Description The number of the channel for cycle counting. This must be non-zero, and must be less than or equal to the total number of channels. To count more than one channel, input one channel number per line.
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Histogram Output Specify
Mode 2 only To specify parameters relating to Mode 2 output.
Data Inputs: Input: Number of Channels: Start Time: Description The number of individual data values output by Flexcom to the timetrace output files at each solution time. See Note (a) below. The time (in seconds) at which to start using data from the seastate files. It is used to exclude initial transients from the fatigue calculations. Any data from solution times prior to this start time is ignored in the fatigue calculations. Scale Factor: This value is used to transform data in the Flexcom units to appropriate units for the histogram output. The value specified here is applied to all output channels. This input is optional, and defaults to 1. Notes (a) This value must be the same for all of the files listed in the Seastate File Specify menu. Likewise, for meaningful cycle counting, the individual channels must be the same in each of the files. Note however that there is no requirement that the simulation lengths are the same in all of the analyses. Nor is it necessary that the individual solution time be the same in all of the Flexcom analyses.
Bins - Define
Modes 1 and 2 To specify the bins or divisions for histogram output.
Data Inputs: Input: Divisions for Stress Histogram Output: Description This entry allows you to enter values to specify how values are grouped in histogram output. This entry is optional for a Mode 1 analysis but required for a Mode 2 analysis. In a Mode 1 analysis, this input refers to stress histograms produced by LifeTime. The section Stress Histograms following this Reference section discusses stress histograms in more detail, and provides insights into the significance and use of some of the other input parameters relating to this type of LifeTime output. Notes (a) The following is an example of this Bins Define window.
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You can use as many values per line and as many lines as you need to unambiguously define your histogram. A histogram is assumed to start at 0, so the first value you specify is the upper stress of the first bin of the histogram.
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Define Stress Properties
Mode: Purpose:
Mode 1 only To assign effective geometric properties to element sets for use in calculating stresses.
Window:
Data Inputs: Input: Set Name: Do: Description The hot spot set to which these stress properties are to be assigned. The external diameter. This is the value used in calculating bending stress from bending moment. This entry is optional in certain cases see Notes (a) and (b) below. Di: The internal diameter. This input is used only in calculating the thickness of the pipe if thickness effects are included in the fatigue analysis. If thickness effects are omitted, the internal diameter value is immaterial. If thickness effects are included in an analysis, this entry is still optional in certain cases see Notes (a) and (b) below. A: The effective cross-sectional area for the pipe, to be used in calculating axial stress from axial force. This entry is optional in certain cases see Notes (a) and (b) below.
Iyy:
The second moment of area about the local y-axis for the elements of the set. This entry is optional in certain cases see Notes (a) and (b) below.
Izz:
The second moment of area about the local z-axis for the elements of the set. This entry is optional in certain cases see Notes (a) and (b) below.
Notes (a) It may seem curious that in general you need to specify diameter, cross-section area and moment of inertia values for hot spots although these values have already been input to Flexcom. The reason is because Flexcom does not echo this data to timetrace output files, and by default only Flexcom timetrace output is required as input to LifeTime. Flexcom does however output the external and internal diameter for each element to database output files. So if Flexcom database output is available, then LifeTime can read the required structural data from that source, thus eliminating the need for a repeat specification of this data. LifeTime reads the name of each Flexcom analysis from the Seastate File Specify data and opens the appropriate timetrace output files for that analysis. The program also checks for the existence of a database output file from the analysis. If a database exists, the program retrieves the external and internal diameter values for each hot spot from that file, and then uses these values to calculate cross-section areas and moments of inertia. (b) There are a number of important points to note with regard to this facility: Only one database needs to exist, and it can correspond to any analysis in your list. LifeTime reads database output once only, regardless of how many database files exist. Once it has retrieved the required structural properties from a database file, the program does not check for the existence of database output from any subsequent analysis in the seastate file. The database file need not contain very much actual results output. The inputs required by LifeTime are written by default to a header block at the start of the database file at
the time of the first output to the database. So in fact database output at only one time is sufficient, and the actual amount of output can be minimised accordingly. If database output exists but you specify structural properties for some or all hot spot sets, the values you input in LifeTime take precedence over the values in the database.
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File Type
Mode 2 To specify the format of the Flexcom timetrace output files.
Data Inputs: Notes: (a) (b)
None
The File Type may be ASCII, Import or Binary, defaulting to ASCII. You should ensure that the timetrace output from each of the Flexcom analyses you list in your Seastate File Specify data is consistent with the File Type specified here.
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STRESS HISTOGRAMS When you run a LifeTime Mode 1 (fatigue) analysis, the main output file jobname.lif contains, by default, a histogram of stress at the hot spot with the lowest fatigue life, for the location on the cross-section (the stress point) at which this minimum occurs. You have the option, when inputting data via the Hot Spots Define menu, of requesting histograms at other locations as well. A number of data inputs relate to the format of this output, and the significance of these is now illustrated with reference to an actual LifeTime stress histogram. The next page shows an example stress histogram from a LifeTime Mode 1 analysis. As you can see, the histogram is in 5 columns. The first is simply the bin number. The second is the associated stress range (that is, peak to trough). Note that these are nominal longitudinal stresses, that is, not including the effect of SCF. The third column is used for output of the number of cycles in this stress range identified during rainflow cycle counting. Columns 4 and 5 show details of fatigue life calculations based directly on the histogram data. A total damage is calculated for each bin based on a representative or equivalent stress for the bin, the user-specified SCF, and the user-specified S-N curve. By default, this equivalent stress is simply the average of the stresses enclosing or defining the bin. However you can change from this default using the input Stress Histogram Range Index in the Stress Spectra Define menu. The index value you specify, which we will denote here as n, is used to calculate an equivalent stress range Seq using the following relation:
S n +1 S n +1 n 2 1 = ( n + 1 ) ( S 2 S1 )
1
Seq
where S1 and S2 are the stresses defining the bin (S2 > S1). This equivalent stress can be considered a power average of the stress bin. Note that for the default n value of 1, Seq is simply (S1 + S2).
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Flexcom Version 7.7
Chapter 2 - Operation Stress Histogram for Element 205 Stress Point 5 ================================================= -----------------------------------------------------------------------------! Bin # ! Stress Range ! No. of ! Equivalent Range ! Damage ! ! ! (ksi) ! Cycles ! (ksi) ! ! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------! 1 ! 0.000- 0.010 ! 722262 ! 0.005 ! .70610E-09 ! ! 2 ! 0.010- 0.025 ! 734964 ! 0.018 ! .23979E-07 ! ! 3 ! 0.025- 0.050 ! 695252 ! 0.038 ! .19164E-06 ! ! 4 ! 0.050- 0.100 ! 688244 ! 0.075 ! .13212E-05 ! ! 5 ! 0.100- 0.200 ! 699632 ! 0.150 ! .93537E-05 ! ! 6 ! 0.200- 0.300 ! 871474 ! 0.250 ! .48702E-04 ! ! 7 ! 0.300- 0.400 ! 814534 ! 0.350 ! .11678E-03 ! ! 8 ! 0.400- 0.500 ! 568232 ! 0.450 ! .16466E-03 ! ! 9 ! 0.500- 0.600 ! 459608 ! 0.550 ! .23359E-03 ! ! 10 ! 0.600- 0.700 ! 303826 ! 0.650 ! .24651E-03 ! ! 11 ! 0.700- 0.800 ! 281780 ! 0.750 ! .34130E-03 ! ! 12 ! 0.800- 0.900 ! 159724 ! 0.850 ! .27466E-03 ! ! 13 ! 0.900- 1.000 ! 86578 ! 0.950 ! .20328E-03 ! ! 14 ! 1.000- 1.100 ! 55480 ! 1.050 ! .17239E-03 ! ! 15 ! 1.100- 1.200 ! 31390 ! 1.150 ! .12584E-03 ! ! 16 ! 1.200- 1.300 ! 12556 ! 1.250 ! .63571E-04 ! ! 17 ! 1.300- 1.400 ! 1314 ! 1.350 ! .82525E-05 ! ! 18 ! 1.400- 1.500 ! 1168 ! 1.450 ! .89605E-05 ! ! 19 ! 1.500- 1.600 ! 0 ! 1.550 ! .00000E+00 ! ! 20 ! 1.600- 1.700 ! 0 ! 1.650 ! .00000E+00 ! ! 21 ! 1.700- 1.800 ! 0 ! 1.750 ! .00000E+00 ! ! 22 ! 1.800- 1.900 ! 0 ! 1.850 ! .00000E+00 ! ! 23 ! 1.900- 2.000 ! 0 ! 1.950 ! .00000E+00 ! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------Totals 7188018 .20194E-02 Fatigue damage directly from histogram Fatigue life directly from histogram Associated weighted mean stress value .20194E-02 495.20 years 37.116
This additional fatigue output is provided as a means of checking the adequacy of the definition of stress bins. If the definition is reasonable, the fatigue life output as calculated directly from the histogram will agree reasonably well with the value calculated by rainflow cycle counting. Note that the histogram output also reports a weighted mean stress. This is simply the sum of the mean stresses at this location from each of the fatigue seastates, weighted by the percentage occurrence of that seastate. If you do not define any histogram bins via the Bins Define menu, LifeTime behaves as follows. If the program has deduced from Flexcom database output that stresses are in either ksi or MPa, then a default bin specification with 21 bins is used. The stress ranges defining these bins are tabulated below. If on the other hand the program is unable to determine what are the units of stress (for example, because no Flexcom database output is
available), then no stress histograms are produced, regardless of whether such histograms have been requested in the specification of hot spots.
Bin # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Stress Range ksi 0.00-0.10 0.10-0.20 0.20-0.30 0.30-0.40 0.40-0.50 0.50-0.75 0.75-1.00 1.00-1.20 1.20-1.40 1.40-1.60 1.60-1.80 1.80-2.00 2.00-5.00 5.00-7.50 7.50-10.0 10.0-12.5 12.5-15.0 15.0-20.0 20.0-25.0 25.0-50.0 > 50.0 MPa 0.00-0.50 0.50-1.00 1.00-1.50 1.50-2.00 2.00-2.50 2.50-4.00 4.00-6.00 6.00-8.00 8.00-10.0 10.0-12.5 12.5-15.0 15.0-20.0 20.0-30.0 30.0-45.0 45.0-60.0 60.0-80.0 80.0-100. 100.-150. 150.-300. 300.-500. > 500.
If you do input a stress bins definition, LifeTime actually adds one bin to the end of your specification, and uses it for all stresses above the maximum value in your data. This is provided of course that the associated number of such cycles is non-zero. In the example
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histogram above, this final bin is absent, so clearly there are no stress ranges counted above 2 ksi in this case. Note that LifeTime now also creates a plot of each histogram you request. An example is shown below. Histogram plots are arbitrarily assigned the same file extension as snapshot plots.
Stress Histogramfor Elem ent 291, Stress Point 1
No. of Cycles (x1E6)
0 0
0.25
0.5
0.75
1.25
1.5
0.5
1.5
2.5
Stress Range
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Flexcom Version 7.7
Chapter 3 - Mode 1 Example Application
CHAPTER 3 - MODE 1 EXAMPLE APPLICATION

This chapter describes an example LifeTime fatigue (Mode 1) analysis of a deepwater drilling riser, and compares the effect on predicted fatigue life of varying some of the input variables. RISER AND ENVIRONMENT The riser used in this example application is that used in Chapter 2, Example 1 Deepwater Drilling Riser, of the Flexcom Examples Manual. Further details of the model can be found in the Example Manual. To illustrate the operation of LifeTime, twelve random sea analyses of this system are performed, for the following combinations of significant wave height Hs and mean zero crossing period Tz.
Combination 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Hs (ft) 2.0 2.0 3.5 3.5 5.0 6.5 6.5 9.5 9.5 12.5 15.5 18.5 Tz (s) 5.0 6.0 6.0 7.0 9.0 8.0 9.0 9.0 10.0 10.0 12.0 12.0
Each analysis is run for 10900s, this being three hours of simulation plus 100s initially to be discarded to exclude transients from the fatigue calculations.
The Flexcom input files for the analyses are included with the Flexcom software. The names of the files are tabulated later. However there are a number of points to note about the specification of both the type and the amount of output data in these files: Force timetrace output only is requested in all twelve dynamic analyses, but this does not have to be the case you can also request motion and reaction timetraces which will simply be ignored by LifeTime. The timetrace specification is the same in all the dynamic runs, although this is not necessary for a Mode 1 LifeTime analysis. Database output is requested in one dynamic analysis (the first, named Dynamic
1), but only for a very limited number of output times.

LIFETIME ANALYSES A total of four LifeTime analyses are reported here to demonstrate the program operation. The fatigue seastate data (as defined in Chapter 1) is the same in all four runs. This consists of the names of the twelve riser dynamic analyses and the percentage occurrences of the associated seastates, which are as follows:
Seastate 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Analysis Name
% Occurrence 10.50 17.73 11.97 16.81 8.18 11.70 9.16 5.00 5.42 2.81 0.69 0.04
Flexcom Version 7.7
Dynamic 1 Dynamic 2 Dynamic 3 Dynamic 4 Dynamic 5 Dynamic 6 Dynamic 7 Dynamic 8 Dynamic 9 Dynamic 10 Dynamic 11 Dynamic 12
42
BASE CASE ANALYSIS The first LifeTime analysis is considered the base case in the sensitivity study which follows in the other three runs. The combination of options for the base case is as follows: Rayleigh pdf specified No endurance limit in S-N curve No thickness effects
In the LifeTime input data for this analysis, which is included with the software, the following are noteworthy: No structure data is input, and no explicit value is specified for the Scale Factor for Stress input. This is because database output was requested in one of the Flexcom analyses, so LifeTime will be able to read the required diameters, cross-section areas etc. from the database file. Likewise the program will know from the value of g in this output that Imperial units are used, and so will automatically use a factor of 6.9444E-06 to generate stresses in ksi (this fact is echoed to the main output file jobname.lif, which also contains a table of the actual structure data values read from the database). The following table presents a summary of the LifeTime results for this case.
Hot Spot Element 153 164 192 229 291 Local Node First Node First Node First Node First Node Last Node Statistics 2175 6264 3558 4089 608 Fatigue Life (years) Spectrum 2118 6075 3442 3988 592 Rainflow 2170 6193 3380 3983 614
For the hot spot with the lowest fatigue life, Element 291, the three methods agree to within less than 1%. Overall the agreement between the three methods at each hot spot is good.
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The stress histogram for Hot Spot 5 produced by this analysis is shown below. The fatigue life calculated directly from the histogram is around 611 years, which agrees very closely with all of the values in the table above.
Stress Histogram for Element 291 Stress Point 1 ================================================= -----------------------------------------------------------------------------! Bin # ! Stress Range ! No. of ! Equivalent Range ! Damage ! ! ! (ksi) ! Cycles ! (ksi) ! ! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------! 1 ! 0.000- 0.010 ! 1327624 ! 0.005 ! .12979E-08 ! ! 2 ! 0.010- 0.025 ! 568435 ! 0.018 ! .18546E-07 ! ! 3 ! 0.025- 0.050 ! 567772 ! 0.038 ! .15650E-06 ! ! 4 ! 0.050- 0.100 ! 624482 ! 0.075 ! .11988E-05 ! ! 5 ! 0.100- 0.200 ! 963766 ! 0.150 ! .12885E-04 ! ! 6 ! 0.200- 0.300 ! 1014924 ! 0.250 ! .56718E-04 ! ! 7 ! 0.300- 0.400 ! 833059 ! 0.350 ! .11943E-03 ! ! 8 ! 0.400- 0.500 ! 567431 ! 0.450 ! .16442E-03 ! ! 9 ! 0.500- 0.600 ! 386549 ! 0.550 ! .19646E-03 ! ! 10 ! 0.600- 0.700 ! 233633 ! 0.650 ! .18956E-03 ! ! 11 ! 0.700- 0.800 ! 156197 ! 0.750 ! .18919E-03 ! ! 12 ! 0.800- 0.900 ! 99458 ! 0.850 ! .17103E-03 ! ! 13 ! 0.900- 1.000 ! 61522 ! 0.950 ! .14445E-03 ! ! 14 ! 1.000- 1.100 ! 36115 ! 1.050 ! .11222E-03 ! ! 15 ! 1.100- 1.200 ! 20314 ! 1.150 ! .81434E-04 ! ! 16 ! 1.200- 1.300 ! 11818 ! 1.250 ! .59836E-04 ! ! 17 ! 1.300- 1.400 ! 7641 ! 1.350 ! .47990E-04 ! ! 18 ! 1.400- 1.500 ! 5266 ! 1.450 ! .40401E-04 ! ! 19 ! 1.500- 1.600 ! 2280 ! 1.550 ! .21080E-04 ! ! 20 ! 1.600- 1.700 ! 1204 ! 1.650 ! .13257E-04 ! ! 21 ! 1.700- 1.800 ! 302 ! 1.750 ! .39231E-05 ! ! 22 ! 1.800- 1.900 ! 390 ! 1.850 ! .59128E-05 ! ! 23 ! 1.900- 2.000 ! 291 ! 1.950 ! .51113E-05 ! ! 24 ! > 2.000 ! 173 ! ! ! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------Totals 7490646 .16367E-02 Fatigue damage directly from histogram Fatigue life directly from histogram Associated weighted mean stress value .16367E-02 610.99 years .642E-03
The figure below plots fatigue damage as a function of seastate for this hot spot. Seastate 6, with a Hs of 6.5ft and a Tz of 8s, is the one that causes the most damage. Again all three methods show close agreement.
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Flexcom Version 7.7

4.00E -04
3.50E -04
3.00E -04
e 2.50E-04 g a m2.00E-04 a D
1.50E -04
Statistics Spectra Rainflow
1.00E -04
5.00E -05
0.00E +00 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Seastate
The same information is presented below except that the vertical axis in this case is the percentage of the total damage caused by each seastate. Seastate 6 generates over 20% of the total, although it occurs for less than 12% of the time. The most common environment, Seastate 2 at nearly 18%, generates just over 3% of the total damage, as it is relatively benign.
25.00%
e g a m a 15.00% D l a t o10.00% T f o %
5.00%
20.00%
Statistics Spectra Rainflow
0.00% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Seastate No.
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Flexcom Version 7.7
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS #1 EFFECT OF PDF The first sensitivity study investigates the effect of using Dirliks pdf rather than the (default) Rayleigh function. The LifeTime results for this case are shown below:
The choice of pdf affects only the Spectrum results. The effect is to increase the predicted fatigue life (but by only about 4%) at all hot spots except the 5th, where there is in fact a small reduction (less than 1%). SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS #2 EFFECT OF ENDURANCE LIMIT In the second sensitivity study, an endurance limit of 0.5ksi is defined in the S-N curve specification. (This value is somewhat arbitrary and intended for illustration only.) The LifeTime results for this case are:
The effect is, as expected, to increase fatigue lives in all cases, by about 7% in the case of the critical hot spot.
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Flexcom Version 7.7
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS #3 EFFECT OF THICKNESS EFFECTS In the final sensitivity study, a non-zero threshold thickness of 0.07ft (0.84) is specified. This value is chosen as being larger than the thickness at all hot spots in the LifeTime analysis except the last one, located on Element 291. So the results at all hot spots except this last one should be unchanged; at the last hot spot the fatigue life should be reduced. The results from this analysis are:
As expected, the output at the first four hot spots is unchanged. At the last hot spot the fatigue life is reduced as expected (by about 3%). EXAMPLE FILES All of the analysis input files required to run these examples may be found in the Examples\LifeTime Examples\Example 1 Mode 1 subdirectory of your Flexcom installation directory, provided that you installed the examples when you installed Flexcom. If you did not install the examples, you may do so at any time by running the Setup program. The actual file names and their contents are as follows.
Static.fl3 Drill Ship.res
Flexcom GUI file Initial static analysis Vessel response (RAO) file
Dynamic 1.fl3 Flexcom GUI file Dynamic analysis (1) Dynamic 2.fl3 Flexcom GUI file Dynamic analysis (2) etc. down to ... Dynamic 12.fl3 Flexcom GUI file Dynamic analysis (12)
47 Flexcom Version 7.7
Base Case.lft
LifeTime GUI file Base case
Sensitivity 1.lft LifeTime GUI file Sensitivity study (1) Sensitivity 2.lft LifeTime GUI file Sensitivity study (2) Sensitivity 3.lft LifeTime GUI file Sensitivity study (3)
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Flexcom Version 7.7
CHAPTER 4 - MODE 2 EXAMPLE APPLICATION

This chapter describes an example LifeTime Mode 2 analysis. RISER AND ENVIRONMENT The riser and environment data used in this example is exactly the same as used in the Mode 1 example analysis described in Chapter 3, and will not be repeated here. Refer to Chapter 3 for a detailed specification. LIFETIME MODE 2 ANALYSIS A single LifeTime Mode 2 analysis is reported here to demonstrate the program operation. The fatigue seastate data is the same as in all the examples of Chapter 3. The fatigue data is as follows. Cycles are counted for 1 channel of the Flexcom timetrace output only, namely local-z bending moment at the last node of Element 291 (the last channel, Channel 16). A scale factor of 0.000044857 is input. This in fact transforms the Flexcom output (in foot-lb) to bending stress in ksi (based on an OD of 1.75 ft and a second moment of area of 0.13546 ft4). The histogram produced by this run should be similar to that produced by the Mode 1 analysis of Chapter 3. This Mode 1 histogram is shown on the next page. The histogram produced by the example Mode 2 analysis is shown on the page after that. In this case no fatigue calculations are reported. Obviously the number and distribution of cycles corresponds closely to that produced by the Mode 1 analysis, thus verifying the operation of LifeTime in Mode 2. (The slight differences are due to the fact that the Mode 1 combined stresses are based on both local-y and local-z moment.) The two histograms are plotted in Figure 4.1, showing close agreement.
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Stress Histogram for Element 291 Stress Point 1 ================================================= -----------------------------------------------------------------------------! Bin # ! Stress Range ! No. of ! Equivalent Range ! Damage ! ! ! (ksi) ! Cycles ! (ksi) ! ! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------! 1 ! 0.000- 0.010 ! 1327624 ! 0.005 ! .12979E-08 ! ! 2 ! 0.010- 0.025 ! 568435 ! 0.018 ! .18546E-07 ! ! 3 ! 0.025- 0.050 ! 567772 ! 0.038 ! .15650E-06 ! ! 4 ! 0.050- 0.100 ! 624482 ! 0.075 ! .11988E-05 ! ! 5 ! 0.100- 0.200 ! 963766 ! 0.150 ! .12885E-04 ! ! 6 ! 0.200- 0.300 ! 1014924 ! 0.250 ! .56718E-04 ! ! 7 ! 0.300- 0.400 ! 833059 ! 0.350 ! .11943E-03 ! ! 8 ! 0.400- 0.500 ! 567431 ! 0.450 ! .16442E-03 ! ! 9 ! 0.500- 0.600 ! 386549 ! 0.550 ! .19646E-03 ! ! 10 ! 0.600- 0.700 ! 233633 ! 0.650 ! .18956E-03 ! ! 11 ! 0.700- 0.800 ! 156197 ! 0.750 ! .18919E-03 ! ! 12 ! 0.800- 0.900 ! 99458 ! 0.850 ! .17103E-03 ! ! 13 ! 0.900- 1.000 ! 61522 ! 0.950 ! .14445E-03 ! ! 14 ! 1.000- 1.100 ! 36115 ! 1.050 ! .11222E-03 ! ! 15 ! 1.100- 1.200 ! 20314 ! 1.150 ! .81434E-04 ! ! 16 ! 1.200- 1.300 ! 11818 ! 1.250 ! .59836E-04 ! ! 17 ! 1.300- 1.400 ! 7641 ! 1.350 ! .47990E-04 ! ! 18 ! 1.400- 1.500 ! 5266 ! 1.450 ! .40401E-04 ! ! 19 ! 1.500- 1.600 ! 2280 ! 1.550 ! .21080E-04 ! ! 20 ! 1.600- 1.700 ! 1204 ! 1.650 ! .13257E-04 ! ! 21 ! 1.700- 1.800 ! 302 ! 1.750 ! .39231E-05 ! ! 22 ! 1.800- 1.900 ! 390 ! 1.850 ! .59128E-05 ! ! 23 ! 1.900- 2.000 ! 291 ! 1.950 ! .51113E-05 ! ! 24 ! > 2.000 ! 173 ! ! ! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------Totals 7490646 .16367E-02 Fatigue damage directly from histogram Fatigue life directly from histogram Associated weighted mean stress value .16367E-02 610.99 years .642E-03
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Flexcom Version 7.7
Chapter 4 - Mode 2 Example Application Histogram for Channel 16 ========================= ----------------------------------------------------------! Bin # ! Range ! No. of cycles ! ----------------------------------------------------------! 1 ! 0.000.01 ! 1328563 ! ! 2 ! 0.010.03 ! 568478 ! ! 3 ! 0.030.05 ! 568347 ! ! 4 ! 0.050.10 ! 623213 ! ! 5 ! 0.100.20 ! 967352 ! ! 6 ! 0.200.30 ! 1015324 ! ! 7 ! 0.300.40 ! 833274 ! ! 8 ! 0.400.50 ! 565528 ! ! 9 ! 0.500.60 ! 384644 ! ! 10 ! 0.600.70 ! 234730 ! ! 11 ! 0.700.80 ! 156452 ! ! 12 ! 0.800.90 ! 98359 ! ! 13 ! 0.901.00 ! 61544 ! ! 14 ! 1.001.10 ! 35553 ! ! 15 ! 1.101.20 ! 19919 ! ! 16 ! 1.201.30 ! 12082 ! ! 17 ! 1.301.40 ! 7582 ! ! 18 ! 1.401.50 ! 5372 ! ! 19 ! 1.501.60 ! 1968 ! ! 20 ! 1.601.70 ! 1205 ! ! 21 ! 1.701.80 ! 322 ! ! 22 ! 1.801.90 ! 368 ! ! 23 ! 1.902.00 ! 291 ! ! 24 ! > 2.00 ! 173 ! ----------------------------------------------------------Total 7490643 Associated weighted mean value 0.00
Stress Histogramfor Elem ent 291, Stress Point 1 Histogramfor Channel 16
No. of Cycles (x1E6)
0 0
0.25
0.5
0.75
1.25
1.5
0.5
1.5
2.5
Stress range (ksi)
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Flexcom Version 7.7
Figure 4.1: Mode 1 and Mode 2 Stress Histograms

EXAMPLE FILES The files required to run this example analysis are exactly the same as for the analyses described in Chapter 3, except for the actual LifeTime GUI file. For this Mode 2 run, the LifeTime file is named Mode 2.lft. All of the files required to run the example may be found in the Examples\LifeTime Examples\Example 1 Mode 1 and Examples\LifeTime Examples\Example 1 Mode 2 subdirectories of your Flexcom installation directory, provided that you installed the examples when you installed Flexcom. If you did not install he examples, you may do so at any time by running the Setup program.
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Flexcom Version 7.7

LifeTime Manual

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Version 7.

LifeTime Users Manual

LifeTime - Reference ............................................................ 13

LifeTime Mode 2 Analysis ...................................................... 49 Example Files ...................................................................... 52

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1

Flexcom Version 7.7

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1

Flexcom Version 7.7

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1

Flexcom Version 7.7

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1

Flexcom Version 7.7

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1

Flexcom Version 7.7

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1

Flexcom Version 7.7

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1

Flexcom Version 7.7

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1

Flexcom Version 7.7

Table 2.1. LifeTime GUI and Fatigue Analysis Files.

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1

Flexcom Version 7.7

Mode: Purpose: Window:

Modes 1 and 2 To specify a title for your LifeTime analysis.

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1

Flexcom Version 7.7

Seastate File- Specify

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1

Flexcom Version 7.7

Mode: Purpose: Window:

Data Inputs: Notes: (a)

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1

Flexcom Version 7.7

SN Curve Linear - Data

Mode: Purpose: Window:

Mode 1 only To specify a linear S-N curve.

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1

Flexcom Version 7.7

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1

Flexcom Version 7.7

SN Curve Piecewise Linear

Mode: Purpose: Window:

Mode 1 only To specify a piecewise linear S-N curve.

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1

Flexcom Version 7.7

SN Curve Data Pairs

Mode: Purpose: Window:

Mode 1 only To specify a S-N curve directly.

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1

Flexcom Version 7.7

Stress Spectra Define

Hot Spots Define

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1

Flexcom Version 7.7

Hot Spots Histogram Data

Mode: Purpose: Window:

Mode 1 only To specify histogram options for hot spots.

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1

Flexcom Version 7.7

Hot Spots Fatigue Data

Mode: Purpose: Window:

Mode 1 only To specify fatigue data for a hot spot set.

LifeTime Users Manual Rev. 1