Practical Defect Tolerance Assessment: From Defects to Engineering Decisions

F​ree Webinar

Tuesday, 11 August 2026

15:00 (London) | 16:00 (Berlin)
07:00 (Los Angeles) | 10:00 (New York)

Performing fracture and structural integrity assessments in practice can be challenging for engineers without prior exposure, as these methods are not widely taught at undergraduate level. While key elements of the underlying theory are covered in specialist courses, applying these methods in an industrial context presents a different set of challenges.

There remains a clear gap in translating this knowledge into the use of widely adopted fitness-for-service (FFS) procedures such as R6, BS 7910 and API 579 for practical engineering applications.

This webinar focuses on a practical, end-to-end application of defect tolerance assessment, demonstrating how to:

• define the assessment case and loading conditions
• derive stress inputs using analytical and finite element methods
• apply fracture assessment procedures (e.g. R6, BS 7910)
• construct and interpret the Failure Assessment Diagram (FAD)
• assess the validity and conservatism of assumptions used
• assess the robustness of inputs, assumptions and results
• make an informed engineering integrity decision

The session will also highlight the importance of verification and validation in structural integrity assessment, including how to assess the credibility of inputs, models and results.

The aim is to bridge the gap between theoretical fracture mechanics and its practical application, providing a clear understanding of how defect tolerance assessments are performed in practice and how confidence in results is established for engineering decision making.

O​ur Speaker ...

Dr. Peter Akhigbe-Midu, Structural Analysis Technical Lead at Rolls-Royce SMR

• Provides technical leadership and oversight for structural integrity assessments supporting the design substantiation of safety-critical components across the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) nuclear plant.
• Achieved Chartered Engineer (CEng) status within 18 months of entering the industry post PhD, representing an exceptionally rapid progression within the profession.
• NAFEMS Professional Simulation Engineer (PSE) in five technical areas including creep and fracture.
• EDF Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel (SQEP) in three technical areas including fracture assessment to R6.
• Subject matter expert in structural integrity and fracture mechanics, with 10 years of experience in fracture and fatigue assessment, cracked-body finite element analysis and advanced finite element modelling using tools such as Abaqus and Ansys.
• Led the redesign of the flange catalogue at Parker Hannifin, optimising structural design and material usage across the range, delivering $70,000 annual cost savings.
• Proposed a new scaling relationship for cycles to failure of a structure, that resolved the long standing 40 year "size effect " problem in scaling empirical fatigue power laws such as Paris, Coffin- Manson and Basquin laws.
• Recognised as a leading contributor to scaling research globally, with his work on finite similitude theory enabling accurate prediction of full-scale structural behaviour from small-scale experiments.
• Experienced in composite material modelling and fluid–structure interaction analysis using Ansys, supporting complex multi-physics simulations.
• Proficient in developing scripts to automate the creation and post-processing of finite element simulations, improving efficiency and consistency of analysis workflows.