insight

Introduction to Composite Material Modeling with

SolidWorks Simulation Premium

Henri Dos Santos

Helping Designers make the right choice
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

1+1 = 3
2

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 reinforced concrete

Egyptians were the invented by the Romans
first people known to
approx. 1000 BC (“opus
make use of plywood caementicium”)
Advantages and Disadvantages of Composites

Advantages Disadvantages

• Lightweight • Cost of materials

• High specific stiffness • Long development time
• High specific strength • Manufacturing difficulties
• Tailored properties • Temperature limits
• Excellent fatigue • Hidden Damage
endurance
• Excellent weather/Water
resistance
• Can be radar and sonar
transparent
• Low thermal expansion
• Good Damping
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 :

Matrix Reinforcements

• Give shape to the composite • Give strengh and stiffness

• Protects the reinforcements from • Dominate other properties such as
the environment coefficient of thermal expansion,
• Transfers loads to the conductivity
reinforcements
• Contribute to properties such as
toughness
Types of composite

High Matrix
Strength •Thermo set
fiber resins
•Glass fiber •Polyester
•Quartz fiber •Vinlyester
•Organic fiber •Epoxy
•Carbon fiber •Etc
•Boron fiber •Thermoplastics
•Ceramic fiber •PPS
•PEEK
•PEI
•Metals
•Glass
•Ceramics
•Carbon
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 weight

Carbon-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

Core Skins

• Foam • Sheet metal

• Balsa wood • Glass
• Composite • FRC
honeycomb • …
• …
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) Force= 50N
• Minimize weight of the part
(<300 g)
• Geometry/global shape can’t
be changed !!
• Free to change thickness and
materials
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
»
 insight
SolidWorks Simulation
add Value & Strength to Thank You
Your Products
Henri Dos Santos
Helping Designers make the right choice