Over the last decade, manufacturers in a variety of industries have recognized that composites can lend their designs a strength-to-weight ratio that just can’t be replicated by other materials. But as a trade-off for those properties, composites are notoriously difficult to manipulate into designed forms. What’s more, the software used to build composite layup strategies is often very expensive, limiting the number of companies that can wield composite materials successfully. To help remedy that quandary, Collier Research has introduced an Express version of its software to make composite design accessible to a wider engineering audience.
Collier Research’s HyperSizer Express was born out of the company’s familiarity with advanced composite design software. In fact, Collier’s professional HyperSizer application was the first software ever to be commercialized by NASA, and it represents the state-of-the-art in composite design packages. In the past, HyperSizer has been used to help design the heat shield for NASA’s multipurpose crew vehicle as well as other U.S. Department of Defense initiatives.
But while HyperSizer has been used to develop some of the most sophisticated composite designs of the last decade, its power, and price tag, might be more than a smaller company will require or can afford.
“When using Express, you get the same exact margins of safety and the same exact material allowables as the Pro version intended for the aerospace industry, with 25 years of maturity and verification behind it,” said Collier. “But now, it’s wrapped in a new interface streamlined for more-efficient composite design optimization.”
In its HyperSizer Express redesign, Collier Research has created a streamlined user interface that walks engineers through the composite design process in a step-by-step manner. Leaving no stone unturned, Express gives users options for everything from model imports to FEA solver choices, laminate optimization and analysis review.
Given the fact that composite design is a delicate art, Express’ intuitive controls ensure that users have a firm grasp on every aspect of the composite process, including rigorous simulation that can detect if a component will fail under the stress of everyday use.Although composite design will remain an expensive proposition for designers, having access to tools that can make the material more accessible could lead to a wide range of improved designs and novel uses for the material.
The Orion—modeled with HyperSizer. Composite ply drops are identified in green. (Image courtesy of Collier Research).
