Composite Finite Element Analysis

This live online course will cover a range of topics, all aimed at structural designers and engineers.

Composite systems include many more factors than conventional metallic structures.

The objective of this course is to break down the composite analysis process into clearly defined steps, give an overview of the physics involved and show how to successfully implement practical solutions using Finite Element Analysis.

Moving to composite structures will allow you to explore:

• increased structural strength and stiffness to weight ratios,
• simpler manufacturing processes,
• more innovative design capabilities.

Composite materials span:

• cheap and freely available glass fiber reinforced systems,
• exotic and tailored carbon, boron or Kevlar systems,
• many other fiber and matrix systems.

The challenge for the designer and analyst is to make decisions on the type of idealization and level of detail required in the Finite Element Analysis. Your design may include:

• thick composite sections with large numbers of plies,
• regions of significant ply drop off,
• tee joints loaded in tension,
• structural shapes causing changes in draping angle or thickness.

Analysis is further complicated by:

• a wide range of failure theories,
• large amounts of stress and strain data for each ply.