The Damage Tolerance Assessment Branch evaluates the ability of a structure to perform reliably throughout its design life in the presence of a defect, crack, or other form of damage. Such assessment is fundamental to the use of structural materials and requires an integral blend of materials engineering, fracture testing and analysis, and nondestructive evaluation. The vision of the Branch is to increase the safety of manned space flight by improving the fracture control process through development and application of standards, guidelines, advanced test and analytical methods, and nondestructive evaluation techniques.
Damage Tolerance Team The mission of the Damage Tolerance Team is to develop and maintain an effective sustaining engineering capability to responsively support MSFC spaceflight hardware by utilizing the best available fracture assessment tools and theories for thorough, accurate, and decisive solutions to engineering problems. The Team also pursues further development of engineering capability in damage tolerance testing and analysis to be implemented in assessment of issues facing MSFC programs
Nondestructive Evaluation Team
The mission of the Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Team is to develop and maintain an effective sustaining engineering capability to responsively support MSFC spaceflight hardware by utilizing the best available NDE tools, which are then applied to materials and structures to verify the required integrity and to detect characteristic flaws. This is accomplished without causing physical or chemical changes to the part being inspected, or otherwise impair its adequacy for operational service. This capability spans both metallic and non-metallic materials and structures. The Team also works integrally with the damage tolerance team to provide quantified initial flaw screening capability for fracture analysis safe-life determination in metallics and to help determine the effects of defects in damage tolerant non-metallics.
At Marshall, the Damage Tolerance Team provides:
Customized experimental techniques developed to assess toughness and fatigue crack growth in metallics, as well as damage tolerance of structures or components under unique loads and environments.
Development of methodologies for experimentally assessing damage tolerance of composite laminates and sandwich structures.
Advanced analysis of fracture and fatigue in metallic structures using finite element and boundary element techniques.
Fracture assessment in accordance with all common codes and criteria (e.g., NASGRO®, API, or R6 failure assessment diagrams, constraint-corrected JIc, etc…)
Specialized fracture analysis for short-life, high-stress components commonly found in launch vehicle applications.
Development of advanced analysis software and techniques applicable to launch vehicle structures and materials.
Leadership for MSFC in damage tolerance and fracture control
Guidance on fracture control implementation for new and advanced programs at MSFC and throughout NASA.
Chairmanship and technical support for the MSFC Fracture Control Board
Development and refinement of NASA and industry guidelines and standards.
Emphasis on innovative approaches to the implementation of fracture control for advanced materials and structures.
Support to the NASA Engineering and Safety Center.
At Marshall, the Nondestructive Evaluation Team provides:
The innovative application of conventional and advanced NDE methods and processes to manned and unmanned space flight systems, components and materials
·Leadership in the development of NASA NDE Standards and NDE Requirements for manned flight systems
Consultation and expertise to anomaly investigations in support of manned flight systems.
Active membership in the MSFC Fracture Control Board.
The most advanced microwave NDE laboratory in the world.
Portable real-time radiography for dynamic motor test environments
Conventional NDE services utilizing state-of-the-art ultrasound, radiography, and eddy current systems.
Conventional NDE services such as fluorescent dye penetrant, magnetic particle testing, thickness measurements, bond testing, and borescopic (visual).
Advanced NDE services such as Terahertz testing, laminography, backscatter x-ray, laser ultrasound, laser shearography, acoustography, in-situ optical fiber Bragg-Grating systems, low energy, high- resolution computed tomography, and linear accelerator supplied high energy computed tomographic x-ray.
The design of capability and validation studies for new NDE applications
The design and fabrication of realistic NDE reliability standards and calibration standards
Active American Society of Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) Certifications in all conventional methods as well as in-house NAS-410 certification of inspectors.
Support to the NASA Engineering and Safety Center.
The Damage Tolerance Assessment Branch evaluates the ability of a structure to perform reliably throughout its design life in the presence of a defect, crack, or other form of damage. Such assessment is fundamental to the use of structural materials and requires an integral blend of materials engineering, fracture testing and analysis, and nondestructive evaluation. The vision of the Branch is to increase the safety of manned space flight by improving the fracture control process through development and application of standards, guidelines, advanced test and analytical methods, and nondestructive evaluation techniques.
metallic materials and structures. The Team also works integrally with the damage tolerance team to provide quantified initial flaw screening capability for fracture analysis safe-life determination in metallics and to help determine the effects of defects in damage tolerant non-metallics. 
Leadership for MSFC in damage tolerance and fracture control
At Marshall, the Nondestructive Evaluation Team provides:
Advanced NDE services such as Terahertz testing, laminography, backscatter x-ray, laser ultrasound, laser shearography, acoustography, in-situ optical fiber Bragg-Grating systems, low energy, high- resolution computed tomography, and linear accelerator supplied high energy computed tomographic x-ray.
and Accessibility
Certification
