Dr. Bahram Farahmand, an expert in fracture control plans for aircraft and spacecraft, spoke to Tri-State University’s graduate-level mechanical engineering class on Sept. 17 in Fawick Hall. Dr. Farahmand was a member of TSU’s mechanical engineering faculty from 1980-1983, and became an internationally renowned expert in the field of fracture control after completing his doctorate at the University of Toledo.

Dr. Farahmand authored several fracture control plans for the International Space Station, Delta Airlines, the DC/XA rocket, and Orbital Space Plane, among other programs. He was assigned by NASA to participate in the failure assessment of Shuttle Columia, using the finite element method and progressive failure analysis tool to assess the failure of material as part of the return to flight activities. He also completed the fatigue and fracture characterization of several aluminum lithium alloys (including the friction stir welding components) for the 2GRLV launch vehicle cryogenic metallic.

Dr. Farahmand is known internationally for virtual testing concepts that can generate fracture properties of material without costly and time consuming tests. He has led numerous tiger teams within the Boeing Co. and is the author of two textbooks, more than 70 technical papers, and the Boeing-HB Fracture Mechanics Handbook (R-35 SSC).

He has been invited as a guest speaker to several universities and taught several courses on linear elastic fracture mechanics and elastic-plastic fracture mechanics to structural analysts throughout the Boeing Co. In addition, he has developed and introduced into practice a unique nonlinear fracture mechanics theory, “Fracture Mechanics of Ductile Materials,” that is considered a major advancement in failure and fracture properties prediction capability. His theory eliminated unnecessary testing and saved several programs within Boeing time and money. His Fracture Toughness Determination (FTD) and Fatigue Crack Growth (FCG) computer codes are used worldwide to generate material fracture allowables without complicated ASTM International testing standards.