VMi uses its FEA and fracture mechanics expertise and appropriate in-house/ CTOD crack growth models to assess whether cracks of any form and size are critical and calculate the timeframe for a crack to propagate to a critical size (failure) under in-service fatigue loads.

The methods and models have been validated through many fatigue tests carried out on chains and are often used to analyse existing or simulated (artificial) cracks providing realistic predictions in fitness for service assessments.