Advanced, Lightweight Structural Materials

The extreme operating environment and high performance requirements of space vehicles and structures necessitate designs that simultaneously optimize mass efficiency and reliability. These criteria are in direct opposition since reliability comes with a weight penalty and, conversely, extreme mass efficiency leads to reduced reliability. These conflicting goals, in the unforgiving, expensive operating environment of space, require that designers have access to sophisticated analytical tools to predict the behavior of these structures. This project will further develop an innovative composite structures analysis approach known as Multicontinuum Technology (MCT). MCT is a finite element based multiscale technology that is accurate, extremely efficient, and highly accessible to the structural analyst. Evidence from the Worldwide Failure Exercise suggests that MCT is poised to become one of the premier numerical analysis tools for composite structures For verification, an experimental program consisting of combined thermal and multi-axial loading of composite cylinders will be included. Finally, in the second phase of the program, we intend to illustrate the value of the improved analytical techniques by leveraging MCT and our proprietary variable-kinematic finite element technology (VKFE), to perform for the first time an accurate and efficient progressive failure analysis of advanced grid stiffened composite structural components.