CM4QC History

Short History of Computational Materials for Qualification and Certification (CM4QC)

The process that led to the formation of CM4QC began in Ed Glaessgen’s office at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center (LaRC) where Michael Gorelik from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was visiting in 2017. The discussion turned to the small number of additively manufactured metal aviation components that were flying in airplanes despite the major investments that were being made in this technology by both industry and government. They recognized that the qualification and certification process was the primary barrier and that introduction of computational materials approaches could make a significant difference.

Ed socialized this idea with many of his colleagues, including Lyle Levine from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). At a NASA workshop on November 14-15, 2018, Ed, Michael, and Lyle met and decided to hold a NASA / NIST / FAA Technical Interchange Meeting to bring the various stakeholders together and determine what the next steps should be. Further plans were made later that month at a meeting held at LaRC on November 20-21, and Paul Witherell and Alkan Donmez from NIST were added as co-organizers of the proposed Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM).

The NASA / NIST / FAA Technical Interchange Meeting on Computational Materials Approaches for Qualification by Analysis for Aerospace Applications was held at LaRC on January 15-16, 2020, with about 60 participants, representing eight aerospace companies, seven government agencies, and two universities. The primary output of the TIM was a call by industry to assemble a Steering Group to provide input and guidance to companies and regulators. NASA published a detailed TIM report and a link can be found on the CM4QC Outputs webpage.

Many of the TIM organizers, invited speakers, and discussion leads worked together to write the TIM report and to define and establish the CM4QC Steering Group. The founding members, as listed in the report, include:

• Edward H. Glaessgen, NASA Langley Research Center
• Lyle E. Levine, National Institute of Standards and Technology
• Michael Gorelik, Federal Aviation Administration
• Nathan A. Ashmore, Boeing Research and Technology
• Richard R. Barto, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories
• Harry R. Millwater, University of Texas at San Antonio
• Gerard J. Nanni, Bell
• Anthony E. Rollett, Carnegie Mellon University
• Edwin J. Schwalbach, Air Force Research Laboratory
• Vasisht Venkatesh, Pratt and Whitney

The virtual kickoff meeting for CM4QC was held on September 14, 2020.