This article presents a novel methodology for the inspection scheduling of gas turbine welded structures, based on reliability calculations and overhaul findings. The model was based on a probabilistic crack propagation analysis for welds in a plate and considered the uncertainty in material properties, defect inspection capabilities, weld geometry, and loads. It developed a specific stress intensity factor and an improved first-order reliability method. The proposed routine alleviated the computational cost of stochastic crack propagation analysis, with accuracy. It is useful to achieve an effective design for manufacturing, to develop structural health monitoring applications, and to adapt inspection schedules to airplane fleet experience.

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Four‐contact‐point slewing bearings are widely used in wind turbine generators (WTGs) to adjust the orientation of the blades and the nacelle to fully exploit wind resources. These bearings must withstand static and fatigue loads; however, at the first stages of the design process, the bearings are commonly selected by considering only static loads. This paper presents a further step of a previous theoretical work published by the authors in the field of the static load‐carrying capacity of four‐contact‐point slewing bearings under axial, radial and tilting‐moment loads. In that work, a generalization of the works by Sjoväll and Rumbarger was presented, providing an acceptance surface of the bearing in the load space. The contact angle of the balls was assumed to be load independent. The present work improves that development by considering the influence of the variability of the contact angle with the applied load, and as a result, the acceptance surface has been redefined. By comparing the results with those of the finite element model published by the authors, it is proven that the new model presented in this work is more realistic than the previous one. Thus, it is believed that this methodology can be easily applied for the initial selection of blade and yaw bearings in WTGs. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This paper presents a generalization of previous works developed by the authors in the field of the calculation and selection of slewing bearings, where a theoretical model for the estimation of the static load-carrying capacity of four-contact-point slewing bearings was obtained. Those previous works assumed that there was no preload in the balls; in the present work, the model has been improved in order to consider the effect of the preload, in such a way that it provides more realistic results because this type of bearings are preloaded in several applications to increase the stiffness and therefore the accuracy of the system. In parallel, and for comparison purposes, the finite element model built by the authors in previous works has been also adapted to include the preload in the balls. Both models, theoretical and FE, assess in complete agreement the increase of the stiffness with the preload level; the results show that the static load-carrying capacity does not vary appreciably with the usual values adopted for the preload.

Fatigue is the most common mechanical failure type in dental implants. ISO 14801 standardizes fatigue testing of dental implants, providing the load-life curve which is most useful for comparing the fatigue behavior of different dental implant designs. Based on it, many works were published in the dental implant literature, comparing different materials, component geometries, connection types, surface treatments, etc. These works are useful for clinicians in order to identify the best options available in the market. The present work is intended not for clinicians but for dental implant manufacturers, developing a design tool that combines Finite Element Analysis, fatigue formulation and ISO 14801 experimental tests. For that purpose, 46 experimental tests were performed on BTI INTERNA® IIPSCA4513 implants joined with INPPTU44 abutments by means of INTTUH prosthetic screws under three different tightening torque magnitudes. Then, the load case was reproduced in a FE model from where the nominal stress state in the fatigue critical section was worked out. Finally, Walker criterion was used to represent accurately the effects of mean stress and predict fatigue life of the studied dental implant assembly, which can be extended to most of the products of BTI manufacturer. By means of this tool, dental implant manufacturers will be able to identify the critical design and assembly parameters in terms of fatigue behavior, evaluate their influence in preliminary design stages and consequently design dental implants with significantly better fatigue response which in turn will reduce future clinical incidences.

This paper presents a calculation of the general static load-carrying capacity of four-contact-point slewing bearings under axial, radial, and tilting-moment loads. This calculation is based on a generalization of Sjoväll and Rumbarger’s equations and provides an acceptance surface in the load space. This acceptance surface provides a solid basis to compute acceptance curves for the design and selection of bearings of this kind.

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