Cost/Performance Models for Composite Aircraft and Missile Structures

The development of advanced composite materials has traditionally be en driven towards systems which promise increased strength, higher stiffness, or greater damage tolerance. However, the introduction of a new material in an airframe or missile structure is associated with a heavy cost burden. As a result, increased emphasis must be placed on low cost weapon systems. This requires that cost and performance trade- offs associated with the selection of candidate composite materials systems (mature, development, and future) be identified as early as possible. In recent years much emphasis has been placed on the development of cost models for composite structures. However, these models typically provide little insight into the performance trade-offs associated with alternate materials and process selections. The innovation addressed by this Phase I research program will be to link material property models, with structural analysis and optimization codes for simultaneous performance and cost modeling of composite structures. In doing so the model will allow the cost implications of materials selections and process improvements to be determined during the earliest stages of the design process, and before full production is initiated.