Environment for Integrated Design and Analysis of Composite Structures

An integrated design and analysis environment for composite structures is proposed. It supports layout and configuration, analysis and sizing, and production detailing. Optimization of parametric vehicle layouts and configurations is coupled with preliminary structural sizing. Complete production models are automated, capturing laminate, tow orientation, ply drop, and transition region connectivity details. Analysis modeling of resulting detailed 3D models is automated to correlate with initial preliminary analysis results used for sizing. Throughout the process, manufacturability is assessed in order to eliminate bad designs and rework. The environment will facilitate the development of advanced vehicle structure concepts in support of certification by analysis. It will be an integral part of an environment covering all aspects of the air vehicle engineering process including design and layout, coupled aerodynamic and structural analyses, sizing, and production detailing. Developed on an underlying object-oriented architecture, the environment can be easily extended to support additional analyses and modeling requirements. In collaboration with Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, the environment will be tested on JSF, JUCAV, and JASSM. The overall engineering process for evaluating potential vehicle structure concepts is enhanced through knowledge-based engineering supporting design for producability with lower cost and quicker turnaround from concept to final details.