NESSUS Probabilistic Analysis Software
Encyclopedia
- For other uses of the word "Nessus", please refer to NessusNessusNessus can have a number of meanings:* Nessus , a famous centaur from Greek mythology* The Tunic or Shirt of Nessus, the poisoned shirt of the centaur Nessus, in the story of Hercules...
.
NESSUS is a general-purpose, probabilistic analysis program that simulates variations and uncertainties in loads, geometry, material behavior and other user-defined inputs to compute probability of failure and probabilistic sensitivity measures of engineered systems. Because NESSUS uses highly efficient and accurate probabilistic analysis methods, probabilistic solutions can be obtained even for extremely large and complex models. The system performance can be hierarchically decomposed into multiple smaller models and/or analytical equations. Once the probabilistic response is quantified, the results can be used to support risk-informed decisions regarding reliability for safety critical and one-of-a-kind systems, and to maintain a level of quality while reducing manufacturing costs for larger quantity products.
NESSUS is interfaced to all major commercial finite element programs and includes capabilities for analyzing computationally intensive real-world problems. It has been successfully applied to a diverse range of problems in aerospace, gas turbine engines, biomechanics, pipelines, defense, weaponry and infrastructure.
Project History
NESSUS was originally developed by a team led by Southwest Research InstituteSouthwest Research Institute
Southwest Research Institute , headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is one of the oldest and largest independent, nonprofit, applied research and development organizations in the United States...
(SwRI) as part of a 10-year NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
project to develop a probabilistic design tool for the space shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
main engine.
In 1999, SwRI was contracted by Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
(LANL) to adapt NESSUS for application to extremely large and complex weapon reliability problems in support of its Stockpile Stewardship
Stockpile stewardship
Stockpile stewardship refers to the United States program of reliability testing and maintenance of its nuclear weapons without the use of nuclear testing....
program.
In 2002, SwRI was contracted by the NASA Glenn Research Center
Glenn Research Center
NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is a NASA center, located within the cities of Brook Park, Cleveland and Fairview Park, Ohio between Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the Cleveland Metroparks's Rocky River Reservation, and has other subsidiary facilities in Ohio...
to further enhance NESSUS for application to large-scale, aero-propulsion system problems.
The end result of these two large programs was a completely redesigned software tool — NESSUS Version 8.2 — that includes
a graphical user interface, three-dimensional probability contouring and results visualization, capabilities for performing advanced design of experiments and sensitivity analysis, a probabilistic input database, and interfaces to many new third-party codes such as ABAQUS
Abaqus
Abaqus FEA is a suite of software applications for finite element analysis and computer-aided engineering, originally released in 1978...
, ANSYS, LS-DYNA
LS-DYNA
LS-DYNA is an advanced general-purpose multiphysics simulation software package developed by the Livermore Software Technology Corporation...
, MSC.NASTRAN and ParaDyn.
Applications
NESSUS can compute the probabilistic response or reliabilityReliability engineering
Reliability engineering is an engineering field, that deals with the study, evaluation, and life-cycle management of reliability: the ability of a system or component to perform its required functions under stated conditions for a specified period of time. It is often measured as a probability of...
of virtually any engineered system where mathematical models can be developed to describe the performance of the system. NESSUS has been applied to a diverse range of problems including aerospace structures
Aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is divided into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...
, automotive structures
Automotive engineering
Modern automotive engineering, along with aerospace engineering and marine engineering, is a branch of vehicle engineering, incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the design, manufacture and operation of motorcycles, automobiles,...
, biomechanics
Biomechanics
Biomechanics is the application of mechanical principles to biological systems, such as humans, animals, plants, organs, and cells. Perhaps one of the best definitions was provided by Herbert Hatze in 1974: "Biomechanics is the study of the structure and function of biological systems by means of...
, gas turbine engines
Gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
, geomechanics
Geomechanics
Geomechanics is the geologic study of the behavior of soil and rock. The two main disciplines of geomechanics are soil mechanics and rock mechanics. The former deals with the behaviour of soil from a small scale to a landslide scale...
, nuclear waste packaging, offshore structures
Offshore construction
Offshore construction is the installation of structures and facilities in a marine environment, usually for the production and transmission of electricity, oil, gas and other resources....
, pipelines
Pipeline transport
Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
and rotordynamics
Rotordynamics
Rotordynamics is a specialized branch of applied mechanics concerned with the behavior and diagnosis of rotating structures. It is commonly used to analyze the behavior of structures ranging from jet engines and steam turbines to auto engines and computer disk storage...
.
Recent specific applications of NESSUS include:
- Aircraft Control Lever Fatigue
- Automotive Crankshaft High-Cycle Fatigue
- Cervical Spine Impact Injury
- Tunnel Vulnerability Assessment
- Orthopaedic Implant Cement Loosening
- Stochastic Crashworthiness in Head-on Impact
- Nuclear Weapon System Verification and Validation
- Pipeline Reliability Assessment
- Space Shuttle Main Engine Flow Line