Altair Case Studies Optimizing Composite Material Design and Manufacturing with KTex Family Software

	Optimizing Composite Material Design and Manufacturing with KTex Family Software Altair

Optimizing Composite Material Design and Manufacturing with KTex Family Software

Altair

Technology Category	Analytics & Modeling - Digital Twin / Simulation Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
Applicable Industries	Life Sciences Plastics
Use Cases	Manufacturing Process Simulation Virtual Reality
Services	System Integration
Challenge	The case study presents several challenges faced by companies in the field of composite material design and manufacturing. The first challenge is to accurately represent the behavior of composite material and choose the best option from many possibilities. The second challenge is to generate a realistic finite element model of a wound part. The third challenge is to perform a global simulation that includes refined areas at a lower scale. The fourth challenge is to simulate the lay-up manufacturing process of a complex composite part to predict the orientation of its fibers and its fiber volume fraction. The final challenge is to simulate the lay-up manufacturing process of an aeronautic radome, predict the orientation of its fibers, and consider these orientations in predicting the electromagnetic performance. Read More
About Customer	The customer in this case study is not explicitly mentioned. However, it can be inferred that the customers are companies involved in the design and manufacturing of composite materials. These could include companies in the aerospace, automotive, and other industries that require complex composite materials for their products. These companies need to accurately represent and model the behavior of composite materials, generate realistic finite element models of wound parts, perform global simulations that include refined areas at a lower scale, and simulate the lay-up manufacturing process of complex composite parts to predict the orientation of fibers and fiber volume fraction. Read More
Solution	The solutions to these challenges are provided by the KTex Family of software by CEDREM. For the first challenge, KTex Pattern is used to represent the composite material at the scale of the yarns, and KTex WovenProperty is used to calculate the homogenized macroscale mechanical properties of any given weave. For the second challenge, KTex Winding is used to visualize the paths followed by the yarns during the winding process and simulate the winding process considering the mechanical properties of the yarns. For the third challenge, KTex Pattern and KTex LayUp are used for precise simulation of the composite material at the scale of the yarns, refinement of the composite material in the chosen areas, and integration of the updated mechanical properties from the lower scale model to the upper scale global simulation. For the fourth and fifth challenges, KTex Pattern is used to build a mesoscopic FE model of several fabrics inside HyperMesh, and KTex Layup is used to set up a manufacturing process simulation inside HyperMesh and run with RADIOSS solver. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Digital Twin / Simulation

Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)

Applicable Industries

Life Sciences

Plastics

Use Cases

Manufacturing Process Simulation

Virtual Reality

Services

System Integration

Challenge

The case study presents several challenges faced by companies in the field of composite material design and manufacturing. The first challenge is to accurately represent the behavior of composite material and choose the best option from many possibilities. The second challenge is to generate a realistic finite element model of a wound part. The third challenge is to perform a global simulation that includes refined areas at a lower scale. The fourth challenge is to simulate the lay-up manufacturing process of a complex composite part to predict the orientation of its fibers and its fiber volume fraction. The final challenge is to simulate the lay-up manufacturing process of an aeronautic radome, predict the orientation of its fibers, and consider these orientations in predicting the electromagnetic performance.

About Customer

The customer in this case study is not explicitly mentioned. However, it can be inferred that the customers are companies involved in the design and manufacturing of composite materials. These could include companies in the aerospace, automotive, and other industries that require complex composite materials for their products. These companies need to accurately represent and model the behavior of composite materials, generate realistic finite element models of wound parts, perform global simulations that include refined areas at a lower scale, and simulate the lay-up manufacturing process of complex composite parts to predict the orientation of fibers and fiber volume fraction.

Solution

The solutions to these challenges are provided by the KTex Family of software by CEDREM. For the first challenge, KTex Pattern is used to represent the composite material at the scale of the yarns, and KTex WovenProperty is used to calculate the homogenized macroscale mechanical properties of any given weave. For the second challenge, KTex Winding is used to visualize the paths followed by the yarns during the winding process and simulate the winding process considering the mechanical properties of the yarns. For the third challenge, KTex Pattern and KTex LayUp are used for precise simulation of the composite material at the scale of the yarns, refinement of the composite material in the chosen areas, and integration of the updated mechanical properties from the lower scale model to the upper scale global simulation. For the fourth and fifth challenges, KTex Pattern is used to build a mesoscopic FE model of several fabrics inside HyperMesh, and KTex Layup is used to set up a manufacturing process simulation inside HyperMesh and run with RADIOSS solver.

Impact #1	The use of KTex Family software solutions resulted in several operational benefits. The software allowed for the finite element model of all the yarns of a given composite and provided RADIOSS and OptiStruct material and property cards for any composite material. It also enabled the visualization of the paths of the yarns during the winding process and provided a ready-to-run calculation to simulate the winding process. The software facilitated multi-scale analysis and refined behavior of the composite material in selected areas and integration in the global behavior of the model. It also helped in reducing the weight of structures by using composite materials and provided simulation results that were very close to reality.

Impact #1

The use of KTex Family software solutions resulted in several operational benefits. The software allowed for the finite element model of all the yarns of a given composite and provided RADIOSS and OptiStruct material and property cards for any composite material. It also enabled the visualization of the paths of the yarns during the winding process and provided a ready-to-run calculation to simulate the winding process. The software facilitated multi-scale analysis and refined behavior of the composite material in selected areas and integration in the global behavior of the model. It also helped in reducing the weight of structures by using composite materials and provided simulation results that were very close to reality.

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Overview

Optimizing Composite Material Design and Manufacturing with KTex Family Software

Operational Impact