CAStLE

HQ USAFA/DFEM-CAStLE
2354 Fairchild Drive,
Suite 6L-173
USAFA, CO 80840-6240
333-8507 (DSN)
(719) 333-8507 (com)

CAStLE Webmaster

Date Last Updated:
13 December 2012

RESEARCH CENTERS

CAStLE'S MISSION

OUR CURRENT and RECENT PROJECTS

Provide world-class laboratory support to cadet
engineering curriculum
Efficiently execute sponsored research programs focus
on delivered S&T solutions and products
Integrate operationally relevant research into cadet curriculum and faculty development

CAStLE CORE COMPETENCIES

Structural bonding/bonded repair and composite materials
Material characterization and alloy development
Failure analysis (including root cause analysis)
Engineering education and short course design
High temperature ceramics and MEMs
Corrosion chemistry and mechanisms
Structural design and analysis
Solid mechanics
Metallurgical analysis
Modeling and simulation
Fatigue crack growth analysis
Environmentally assisted cracking
Flight data acquisition and analysis
Structural system teardown analysis

CAStLE LINKS

Structural Teardown Analysis

Description: Planning, execution and technical direction, and consultation for numerous customers in support of Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP) and structural sustainment requirements.
Customers: USAF Program Offices (C-5, C-130, KC-135, B-1B, E-8C) and USN (V-22)
Products: Structural damage condition analysis, NDI assessment data, USAF Teardown guidelines titled Procedures for Aircraft Structural Teardown Analysis—USAF Academy Technical Report (USAFA TR) number 2008-02, and detailed teardown process Protocols which document best practices and lessons learned—USAFA TR numbers 2009-01 through 2009-06, 2010-03, and 2010-04.

Flight Data Acquisition and Analysis

Description: Planning and execution of numerous programs to design, install, and operate flight data instrumentation packages. Analysis of data product.
Customers: US Coast Guard Air Logistics Center (HC-130H), USAF Program Offices (TG-10B, TG-16A).
Products: Operational load spectrums correlated to flight condition, operational environmental spectrum, G-exceedance analysis, instrumentation system design and installation procedures

Environmental Degradation Research

Description: Numerous projects to support the Office of Secretary of Defense Corrosion Policy and Oversight Office (OSD-CPO) Technical Corrosion Collaboration (TCC). Collaborative research between USAFA, University of Virginia, University of Akron, University of Mississippi, Ohio State University, and University of Hawaii-Manoa.
Customers: OSD-CPO, TCC, USAF Corrosion Program, and other government agencies.
Products: Quantified impact of environment and coatings on structural degradation to include fatigue and stress corrosion crackingâ€”specifically the impact of chromate and ionic corrosion inhibitors, standardized environmental test protocols, devices and procedures for repeatable application of aviation-representative environment on test specimens. Research won the 2012 Air Force Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Cadet Team award.

Materials Characterization,
Crack Growth Studies, Numerical Analyses

Description: Numerous projects to support USAF aircraft sustainment of aging aircraft.
Customers: Joint partners; USAF ASIP, USAF Program Offices, including T-38, KC-135, A 10 and others.
Products: Stress Intensity factor solutions for numerical crack growth simulations; finite element models for assessing residual strength; experimental analyses of crack growth behavior (effects of overloads on crack growth, crack growth rates near threshold); finite element models for assessing crack growth paths and rates under mixed-mode loading; ASTM tests for crack growth rates, S-N curve development, stress corrosion cracking resistance/susceptibility, fracture toughness, modulus, and strength; effects of cold working in high-strength steel; numerous USAFA TRs.

CAStLE CUSTOMER SLIDESHOW