The role of modelling and simulation in the development of advanced non-destructive evaluation systems

Non-destructive evaluation (NDE) technologies are a critical component of a collaborative engineering environment. The role of NDE simulations in component design, manufacturing, certification, integrity and repair are identified and discussed in the context of a futuristic intelligent synthesis environment (ISE) that facilitates collaborative engineering. Each of these critical areas needs to be simulated in a virtual reality environment and is expected to have a large effect on the cost, life, safety, and risk of aerospace products. In a collaborative engineering environment, NDE simulations will provide 'real-time' feedback to component designers and systems engineers. This feedback is necessary to achieve optimum overall system-level benefits.