A prototype expert system for analysis of turbine engine components

The purpose of the engine structural analysis consultant (ENSAC) system was to aid the inexperienced structural analyst in the analysis process for turbine engine components. The process involves multiple, complex stages and potentially massive computational resources. These stages consist of: specification of the type of analysis; definition of the model and associated data; selection of an analysis code; and preparation of input data for the particular analysis code. This prototype expert system was constructed using the rule-based, forward chaining ART-IM programming language that has user interface capabilities such as menus and windowing. The primary parameters of an ENSAC case are engine section, engine component, and material type. ENSAC will dispatch advice in one of the eight categories. A simplified analysis capability has been incorporated in ENSAC to permit the analyst to obtain first-order estimate of the stress and deflection response of a number of turbine engine components subjected to one of several loading conditions