Brentwood, TN, October 7, 2010 – The U.S. Army announced the awarding of its Extended Support Program contract to VEXTEC Corporation to evaluate the viability of a “cold spray” repair process technology for critical helicopter components.

This technology has been evaluated by several helicopter OEMs as a means to reduce Army and Navy helicopter repair time and cost. However, standard work process flows to produce the required level of understanding of a new technology is a slow and expensive process. VEXTEC was selected to help accelerate that process through the use of its Virtual Life Management®(VLM®) and Virtual Twin® product simulation technologies. This program is being sponsored by the Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) under the leadership of Dr. David Lamb, Deputy Chief Scientist. Commenting on the application of VEXTEC’s technology on this project, Victor K. Champagne, Team Leader of the Innovative Materials and Processes Team, of the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), said, “ARL understands the goal of this approach and its potential to evaluate cold spray technology as a viable alternative to in-service component replacement.

The objective of the proposed effort is the ability to simulate the durability and remaining useful life of a cold spray repaired component under relevant operating conditions.” “The ESP is an opportunity for us to demonstrate the power of our technology to accelerate R&D,” said VEXTEC Vice President, Carl Kolts. “Deploying new technologies – like cold spray – have the potential to positively impact both safety and economics for operating fleets of aircraft. This is an effort we’re very proud to be a part of.”

About VEXTEC
VEXTEC is a computational simulation company that provides technical expertise and services in the area of component, system, and fleet durability and life. VEXTEC utilizes the Virtual Life Management® (VLM) engineering software platform to help companies make better products and resolve in-service durability and reliability issues. VEXTEC enables clients to optimize their product design and manufacturing processes to achieve the desired product durability and life, while at the same time reducing product development time and cost. Founded in 2000, VEXTEC is recognized as a technological leader in the application of computational material science and probability theory to improve product quality.

Contact:
Ashley C. Clark
Marketing Manager
(615) 372-0299 (ext. 233)
aclark@vextec.com