Simulating composite materials introduces unique challenges, including ply orientation, drape simulation, and wrinkle prediction. These complexities often lead engineering and product teams to seek expert consulting for accurate and reliable solutions.
Composite materials, or composites, are two or more different materials that are combined to create a new material that is ideally superior to its individual parts.
In engineering, composites are synonymous with fiber-reinforced composites. The fibers are strong and stiff but lack coherence without a polymer binding them together. In contrast, the polymer on its own is weak. Composite materials bring a certain design freedom in that the mix and orientation of the fibers can be tailored to suit your needs.
Performing structural analysis on a composite design presents challenges due to fiber direction rarely being aligned in a single axis. Each individual fiber layer is typically aligned in different orientations, and the composite part design is often a complex shape.
Ansys Mechanical with Ansys Composite PrepPost (ACP) offers the engineer a solution to “build up” the layers in the FEA model exactly as they are laid-up in production. The design being analyzed can include anything from a simple laid-up design to very complex assemblies consisting of both composite materials and isotropic (i.e. metallic) materials. Ansys Material Designer is a complementary application used to analyze a composite at the microstructure level, in order to derive homogeneous material properties.
SimuTech Group’s FEA consulting engineers have extensive experience in not only using Ansys to set up, mesh, solve, and post-process composite applications, but also in working closely with our clients to improve and optimize those designs.
We have analyzed composite structures in many industries to predict deformation, stress, strain, first-ply failure, and progressive failure of the structure. Additional features we can include in the analysis are thermal dependent properties, fiber orientation optimization, short-fiber orientations imported from injection molding analysis, and explicit (crash and impact) simulations.
Investigation into bird impact into belly mounted radome considering composite variations due to environment / manufacturing.
Evaluation of composite helicopter panel for mounting of external surveillance equipment.
Structural and dynamic evaluation of trailer fairing used for vehicle drag reduction.
Detailed model of complete water slide assembly for evaluation of rider, wind and seismic loading.
Analysis of structure under exhaust gas loading.
Feasibility study to replace steel frame with FRP composite panels.
Unlock the full potential of your composite designs with expert guidance tailored to your unique challenges. From optimizing ply orientations to addressing wrinkle predictions, our team delivers precise solutions that enhance performance and reliability. Contact us today to learn how we can help you achieve success in your composite material applications.
Our team of experienced engineers can assist you at any step of your process.
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