Introduction to Composite Material Modeling with SolidWorks Simulation Premium

Henri Dos SantosHelping Designers make the right choice

insight

Presentation Outline

• Introduction

• Characterisation of Composite Materials

• Composite Applications

• SolidWorks Simulation Premium Composite Positioning

• SolidWorks Simulation Premium Functional Composite Specifications

• Composite Sandwich principle

• Composite failure

• Composite Modelling in SolidWorks

• Quality of our results

• Conclusion

Introduction - What is a composite Material?

Four basic categories of structural materials :

• Metals

• Polymers

• Ceramics

And

• Composites

Definition : « Composite materials consist of two or more separate materials combined in a macroscopic structural unit »

Introduction

improved specific properties not obtainable by any of the original components acting alone

Introduction - History facts/ Did you know?

Introduction - History facts/ Did you know?

The ancient Egyptians were the first people

known to make use of plywood

reinforced concrete invented by the Romans approx. 1000 BC (“opus

caementicium”)

Advantages and Disadvantages of Composites

Advantages and Disadvantages of composites

Types of composite

Composites include :

• Fibrous : Composed of fibers, in a matrix

• Laminar : layers of materials

• Particulate : Composed or particles or flakes, in a matrix

• Hybrid : combinations of any of the above

Roles of the matrix and Reinforcement in a composite :

Types of composite

Types of composite

• Fiber reinforced plastics (FRP)

• Sandwich structures

• FRP facings, aluminum facings, steel facings and core (foam, honeycomb, etc) 

• Multi-layer laminates

• Metal Matrix Composites (MMC's)

• Glass matrix composites

• Ceramic Matrix Composites

• Ceramic Ceramic Composites

• Carbon Carbon Composites

• etc.

Use of composites today

Use of composites today

25% of the A380's airframe by weightCarbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP)

glass-fibre reinforced plastic (GFRP)

quartz-fibre reinforced plastic (QFRP)

GLARE (GLAss-REinforced fibre metal laminate)

But also

Use of composites today

Positioning & Marketing…

Composite Material modeling has been added to SolidWorks Simulation Premium

Scoped to be a tool for Design Engineers who wish to:

• Explore the use of composites as a replacement for sheet metal, thin walled castings, or other homogenous thin walled materials

• Evaluate the benefits and/or sensitivity of material, thickness, number of plys, or orientation in an existing thin walled composite material application

Functional Specifications…

Composite formulations supported:

• 3-layer Sandwich

• Multi-layer Symmetric and Asymmetric (50 layers max.) (laminates)

Study Types supported:

• Static

• Frequency

• Buckling

Material supported :

• Each layer can be isotropic or orthotropic

Output supported:

• Tsai-Hill, Tsai-Wu, Max Principal Stress FOS plots

• Interlaminar Shear Stress

• General Stress and Displacement output per shells

Sandwich

Theorical Symmetric Sandwich Beam principle

bending stiffness ???

Theories for Predicting Failure of Composite Laminates

A variety of failure criteria exist to predict the ply level ultimate strength in polymer matrix composites.

Maximum Stress simply compare macroscopic (ply level) stresses in each coordinate direction to maximum values.

Tsai-Hill and Tsai-Wu use quadratic (and tensor in the case of Tsai-Wu) combinations of the stresses to account for stress interaction.

SolidWorks 2009

Improve the Quality of Your Design

Goals

• Minimize deflexion Max (<15 mm)

• Minimize weight of the part (<300 g)

• Geometry/global shape can’t be changed !!

• Free to change thickness and materials

Force= 50N

SolidWorks 2009

Current design :

• Material used is orthotropic

• Thickness is 3 mm

• deflexion Max is 18.2 mm

• weight is 733 g

SolidWorks 2009

New design :

• composite

• Sandwich definition with a foam material

• Same previous material for skins

• Total Thickness is 5.5 mm

• deflexion Max is 13.7 mm

• weight is 204 g

Benefits :

SolidWorks 2009 – Composite support

Conclusion

» Composite materials have great potential in the next decades

»

Thank You

Henri Dos SantosHelping Designers make the right choice

insight

SolidWorks Simulation add Value & Strength to Your Products