CAD OF STRUCTURES USING COMPOSITE MATERIALS

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CAD SYSTEM FOR THE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURES FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE APPLICATIONS USING ADVANCED COMPOSITE MATERIALS. WE PROPOSE TO ADAPT EXISTING THEORIES OF OPTIMAL STRUCTURAL DESIGN, E., OPTIMAL SHAPE DESIGN, TO TREAT THE DESIGN OF STRUCTURES USING ADVANCED COMPOSITE MATERIALS, E.G., FIBER REINFORCED, RESIN MATRIX MATERIALS, AND METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES. AN EXTENSIVE MATHEMATICAL THEORY FOR OPTIMAL STRUCTURAL DESIGN HAS BEEN DEVELOPED OVER THE PAST THIRTY YEARS. ASPECTS OF THIS THEORY HAVE BEEN USED IN THE DESIGN OF COMPONENTS FOR HYPERSONIC VEHICLES AND THERMAL DIFFUSTION SYSTEMS BASED ON HOMOGENEOUS MATERIALS. ENHANCEMENT OF THE DESIGN METHODS TO INCLUDE OPTIMIZATION OF THE MICROSTRUCTURE OF THE COMPONENT IS A SIGNIFICANT INNOVATION WHICH CAN LEAD TO MAJOR ENHANCEMENTS IN COMPONENT PERFORMANCE.