Integrating Materials Model-Based Definitions into Design, Manufacturing, and Sustainment: A Digital Twin Demonstration of Incorporating Residual Stresses in the Lifecycle Analysis of a Turbine Disk

Abstract Model-based definitions (MBDs) aim to capture both geometric and non-geometric data in digital product definitions using 3D computer-aided design (CAD) models, as a form of product definition baseline, to disseminate product information across different stages of the lifecycle. MBDs can potentially eliminate error-prone information exchange associated with traditional paper-based drawings and improve the fidelity of component details, captured using 3D CAD models. A component’s behavior during its lifecycle stages influences its downstream performance, and if included within the MBD of a part, could be used to forecast performance upfront during the design and explore newer designs to enhance performance. However, current CAD capabilities limit associating behavioral information with the component’s shape definition. This paper presents a CAD-based tool to store and retrieve metadata using point objects within a CAD model, creating linkages to spatial locations within the component. The tool is illustrated for storage and retrieval of bulk residual stresses developed during the manufacturing of a turbine disk acquired from process modeling and characterization. Further, variations in residual stress distribution owing to process model uncertainties have been captured as separate instances of the disk’s CAD models to represent part-to-part variability as an analogy to track individual serialized components for digital twins. The propagation of varying residual stresses from these CAD models within the damage tolerance analysis performed at critical locations in the disk has been demonstrated. The combination of geometric and non-geometric data inside the MBD, via storage of spatial and feature varying information, presents opportunities to create digital twin(s) of actual component(s).