Special Issue on Challenges and Resolutions in Structural Life Prediction

Abstract

Predicting the useful service life of components, be it structural or electronic, is of significant importance to existing and advanced technologies. Needless to say, this topic is of great interest to the members of ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping Division, as evidenced from the many symposia held on Service Life Extension, Fitness-for-Service, etc., over the last decade. These symposia have revealed that while we have made important strides in our predictive capabilities, many issues of fundamental importance and practical significance remain unresolved. This special issue contains selected papers of high technological and scientific value that were presented during the ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference over the last two years. As a reader peruses these papers, he/she will find that there are a number of issues of fundamental interest and practical importance, some resolved and some not, in structural life prediction. It is the sincere hope of the editor that this volume will stir interest and future activity in life prediction methodology that incorporates a sound fundamental understanding of the physics and mechanics of materials.