Prof. Jacob Bortman of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev visits CALCE

Prof. Bortman visited CALCE on September 20 and 21, 2021. He met with CALCE graduate students working in the area of Prognostics. He met with Prof. Michael Pecht, Dr. Michael Azarian, and Dr. Diganta Das and discussed the opportunities for future collaboration between the two universities, particularly in the areas of Prognostics and Health Management.

Prof. Bortman gave a Mechanical Engineering seminar presentation on "The Developments of New Efficient Algorithms for Diagnostics and Prognostics of Mechanical Systems." He introduced his research program and the Ben-Gurion University (BGU) Predictive Health Monitoring (PHM) laboratory. Its main research topics are related to the development of new efficient algorithms for diagnostics and prognostics of mechanical systems, such as bearings, gears, shafts, universal joints, and hydrodynamic bearings. Each study is based on physical models (kinematic and dynamic), validated by experiments with seeded faults. The methodology is based on understanding the physics of the machine components and their expression in the vibration signal in the presence of a fault. The presentation provided a short introduction of new models and tools used for monitoring bearings and gears, implementation of Fiber Bragg Grating (FBGs) sensors, simulations of the damage mechanisms including the initiation and propagation phases of spalls (collaboration with AFRL), and hybrid AI algorithms for tracking damage size in bearings.

Prof. Jacob Bortman joined the academic faculty of Ben- Gurion University of the Negev as the head of the PHM Lab in September 2010, as a Full Professor. Prof. Bortman spent thirty years in the Israeli Air Force (IAF), retiring with the rank of Brigadier General. Prof. Bortman received all three of his academic degrees in Mechanical Engineering. He received his D.Sc. degree from Washington University in 1991. His thesis was "Nonlinear Models for Fastened Structural Connection Based on the p-Version of the Finite Element Method" and the Finite Element Method has remained as one of his areas of expertise. His areas of research in the PHM Lab at Ben- Gurion University of the Negev include Health usage monitoring systems (HUMS), Conditioned Based Maintenance (CBM); Usage and Fatigue Damage survey; Finite Element Method; and Composite Materials.

Prof. Bortman is Director of Business Development of Scoutcam Ltd, chairman of the board of directors, Selfly Ltd., board member of Augmentum Ltd., board member of Harel Finance Holdings Ltd., chairman of the board of directors, Ilumigyn Ltd., member of "The National Initiative for Secured Intelligent Systems to Empower the National Security and Techno-Scientific Resilience: A National Strategy for Israel". He is an editorial board member of the Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology Advances (Springer, Quarterly issue)”. Member of: BINDT - The British Institute of Nondestructive Testing, Head of the Israeli Organization for PHM, IACMM - Israel Association for Comp. Methods in Mechanics, ISIG - Israel Structural Integrity Group, ESIS - European Structural Integrity Society. Received the Israel National Defense prize for leading the IAI strategic development program, outstanding lecturer at BGU, first place in the Israel Prime Minister National Prize for Excellency and Quality in the Public Service. He authored and co-authored over 80 refereed articles in scientific journals and in international conferences.

Published September 29, 2021