Stiffened Composite Panel Weight Optimization via Iterative Simulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current design processes for aeronautical structures do not effectively utilize the structural optimization possibilities of composite materials, particularly in stiffened panels, leading to inefficiencies in weight reduction and safety margin management.
Innovation Solution
A computer-aided process involving a Simulation Model, modifiable design variables, restrictive conditions, and simulation expert modules for failure modes is used to iteratively optimize the structural design of stiffened composite material panels, ensuring safety margins and minimizing weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If composite materials are used in aeronautical structures to reduce weight, then weight reduction is achieved, but the complexity of structural optimization increases due to material anisotropy and failure mode interactions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complex optimization problem into distinct components: multiple simulation expert modules each handling specific failure modes (buckling, strength, stability), separate design variable groups (geometric parameters, material properties), and modular constraint management. This segmentation allows the complex composite material optimization to be broken into manageable, independent analysis modules that can be executed systematically.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent systematically varies design parameters including fiber orientation angles, layer thicknesses, stiffener dimensions, and material properties to optimize the composite panel structure. By changing these parameters iteratively through multiple simulation analyses, the method navigates the complex design space to find optimal configurations that minimize weight while satisfying all safety constraints.
2Weight of moving object
If iterative optimization is performed to achieve weight reduction, then weight efficiency improves, but computational time and process duration increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-defining multiple simulation expert modules for different failure modes before the optimization begins. Design constraints, safety factors, and analysis configurations are established in advance, allowing the iterative optimization process to proceed efficiently without repeated setup overhead. The General Finite Element Model is prepared beforehand with all necessary boundary conditions and load cases.
Solution Approach 2:
The optimization process implements feedback mechanisms where results from each simulation analysis feed back into the next iteration. Safety margins and failure mode predictions from one analysis cycle inform design variable adjustments for the next cycle, creating a closed-loop system that converges toward the optimal design. This feedback enables systematic weight reduction while maintaining safety requirements.
3Reliability
If multiple failure modes are considered in the optimization, then safety margin reliability improves, but the complexity of simulation analysis increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the analysis of multiple failure modes into separate, specialized simulation expert modules. Each module focuses on a specific failure mechanism (buckling, strength, stability, damage tolerance), allowing complex multi-physics analysis to be divided into independent, manageable components. This modular approach maintains high reliability by comprehensively covering all failure modes while reducing overall model complexity through functional decomposition.
Solution Approach 2:
The General Finite Element Model serves as a universal platform that can perform multiple types of analyses (linear buckling, nonlinear buckling, strength verification, stability checks) through different expert modules. This multi-functional approach allows a single base model to evaluate all failure modes, reducing the need for separate models for each analysis type and simplifying the overall simulation framework.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a computer-aided process for carrying out the structural design of a stiffened panel (9) made of a composite material, optimizing a target variable, comprising a first preparation phase (21) in which a Simulation Model (25) of the stiffened panel (9) with all the relevant information for the structural analysis thereof is obtained from a General Finite Element Model (23) and the modifiable variables and the restrictions (27) are defined, and a second simulation phase (51) in which the design variables are iteratively modified for the purpose of optimizing the target variable, taking into account in each iteration the load distribution changes resulting from the previous iteration, and verifying that the restrictive conditions and the safety margins associated to the pre-established failure modes are met using for that purpose simulation expert modules (55) of families of failure modes.