Lamination parameter-based method for optimal design and manufacturing options
First Claim
1. A method for designing and manufacturing a composite laminate, the method comprising:
- (a) generating target lamination parameters for a composite laminate using structural optimization to optimize a weight function subject to design and/or manufacturing constraints;
(b) generating a baseline set of layups having lamination parameters which match the target lamination parameters;
(c) determining additional layup solutions lying on a same solution manifold for each baseline layup, each solution manifold being a respective set of alternative designs having identical stiffness properties;
(d) filtering layups on solution manifolds using design rules to produce a reduced set of candidate layups, wherein the design rules include limits on (i) the gap angle between any two layers of the complete layup, (ii) the swerve angle, the change in layup angle between adjacent layers, and (iii) adequate diversity of layup angle over every neighborhood of adjacent layers;
(e) verifying maximum strain and buckling properties of the candidate layups by performing an engineering analysis using a finite element model; and
(f) manufacturing a composite laminate having a layup corresponding to a candidate layup having verified maximum strain and buckling properties.
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Abstract
A design process that uses lamination parameter inversion to generate a set of baseline layups having desired stiffness properties. Then the underdetermined Newton'"'"'s method can be applied to explore solution manifolds describing alternative designs having similar if not identical stiffness properties. The manifold of solutions can be methodically examined to find those with desirable properties. Desirable properties include those that have been traditionally captured by design rules or those that improve manufacturability. Combining lamination parameters as design variables with lamination parameter inversion provides an efficient optimization process for non-traditional laminates.
9 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for designing and manufacturing a composite laminate, the method comprising:
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(a) generating target lamination parameters for a composite laminate using structural optimization to optimize a weight function subject to design and/or manufacturing constraints; (b) generating a baseline set of layups having lamination parameters which match the target lamination parameters; (c) determining additional layup solutions lying on a same solution manifold for each baseline layup, each solution manifold being a respective set of alternative designs having identical stiffness properties; (d) filtering layups on solution manifolds using design rules to produce a reduced set of candidate layups, wherein the design rules include limits on (i) the gap angle between any two layers of the complete layup, (ii) the swerve angle, the change in layup angle between adjacent layers, and (iii) adequate diversity of layup angle over every neighborhood of adjacent layers; (e) verifying maximum strain and buckling properties of the candidate layups by performing an engineering analysis using a finite element model; and (f) manufacturing a composite laminate having a layup corresponding to a candidate layup having verified maximum strain and buckling properties. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for manufacturing a laminated composite structure using plies of fiber-reinforced plastic, the method comprising:
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(a) determining target lamination parameters for a composite laminate using structural optimization to optimize a weight function subject to design and/or manufacturing constraints; (b) determining a set of baseline layups whose lamination parameters match the target lamination parameters using lamination parameter inversion to find families of alternative layups with stiffness matrices specified by their lamination parameters; (c) determining alternative layups lying on a solution manifold for each of the baseline layups, each solution manifold being a respective set of alternative designs having identical stiffness properties; (d) selecting alternative layups which satisfy a set of design rules, wherein the design rules include limits on (i) the gap angle between any two layers of the complete layup, (ii) the swerve angle, the change in layup angle between adjacent layers, and (iii) adequate diversity of layup angle over every neighborhood of adjacent layers; (e) verifying maximum strain and buckling properties of a selected alternative layup by performing an engineering analysis using a finite element model; and (f) manufacturing a laminated composite structure having the selected alternative layup. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for designing and manufacturing a composite laminate, the method comprising:
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generating target lamination parameters for a composite laminate using structural optimization to optimize a weight function subject to design and/or manufacturing constraints; generating a baseline set of layups having lamination parameters which match the target lamination parameters using lamination parameter inversion to find families of alternative layups with stiffness matrices specified by their lamination parameters; determining additional layup solutions lying on a same solution manifold for each baseline layup, each solution manifold being a respective set of alternative designs having identical stiffness properties; and manufacturing a composite laminate having a layup corresponding to an additional layup solution. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification