JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #105 - June 2016 - 40

data

Fig. 3: Assessing materials performance for lightweighting. Lines indicate
materials with a similar weight for a given stiffness, showing how this varies for
different applications

information management for the project,
capturing high-quality, pedigree-assured
composites data and enabling the use of this
data for finite element analysis (FEA).

Making smart decisions
Of course, good materials information only
has value if it is applied. In lightweighting
projects, this often means using it to choose
materials. But it can be difficult to make
valid comparisons across different material
classes. Cross-class materials selection often
takes engineering teams out of their "comfort zone". To have confidence in exploring
options, they need not only the best available in-house information, but reference data
to "fill the gaps" in their picture of materials
property space. And they need systematic
tools to use this data in making informed
decisions. These tools need some "material
intelligence", since performance is often
determined by complicated combinations of
material properties (figure 3).
Designworks, a BMW Group subsidiary,
provides consultancy and design services to
the automotive sector and a diverse range
of other industries with a focus on mobility.
The work of the team of materials scientists, automotive and product designers,
engineering experts and sustainability consultants is geared towards innovation, with
lightweight solutions being one of the key
priorities. When working on a seat concept
for the rail industry, Designworks was able
to reduce weight by 25% with considerable
financial benefits. The company is using
GRANTA MI to manage and integrate its

Fig. 4: Automotive transmission cross-beam selection chart

materials knowledge, and also uses the CES
Selector™ software to aid materials selection.
CES Selector can screen the "universe" of
available materials to identify candidates
for an application. It provides a database of
comparable, gap-free data for all classes of
engineering materials, plus graphical tools
based on the rational selection methodology
developed by Professor Mike Ashby at the
University of Cambridge [4] to filter this
data and identify optimal materials choices.
While details of companies' design projects
are often confidential, it is possible to
describe typical problems solved through
materials selection studies carried out by
Granta Design [5]. A potential weight saving
of 70% was identified by replacing steel with
continuous fibre-reinforced composites
in a high-performance drive shaft. And for
an automotive transmission cross-beam,
a glass-fibre-filled polymer would be 40%
lighter and 20% cheaper than a cast aluminium alloy (figure 4).

Effective materials
information management
for lightweighting success
These case studies demonstrate the
importance of good materials information
management and this is being used in
organizations where lightweighting is a key
target, and composites are a key technology.
Substantial weight savings, cost savings,
time savings, and the opportunity for greater
understanding and insight can be achieved.
These projects have in common the use
of the GRANTA MI software, which has

40 jec composites magazine / No105 June 2016

become the industry-standard software for
systematic materials information management. The GRANTA MI:Composites package meets the special challenges of managing
large quantities of complex composites data,
and access to the authoritative NCAMP reference data eases the process of composites
qualification and equivalency. The related
CES Selector adds graphical tools for crossclass comparison and selection of materials.
Granta's combination of software and powerful analytical tools allows enterprises and
consortia to manage materials knowledge,
combining data and information to enable
them to make better decisions across material classes, so they can push materials harder to develop the lightweight solutions they
need to gain a competitive edge. Materials
information, if well managed and applied,
can tip the scales in favour of lightweighting
success. n
References
[1] Industry Survey on Materials Information Technology, Granta Design Ltd., 2012
[2] Web seminar, 2013, www.grantadesign.
com/webseminars/2013/wind.htm
[3]Web seminar, 2013, www.grantadesign.
com/webseminars/2013/composites/
[4] M.F. Ashby, Materials Selection in
Mechanical Design, 4th Edition. Butterworth
Heinemann, 2011
[5] CES Selector case studies, www.grantadesign.com/products/ces/casestudies.htm
More information:
www.grantadesign.com

http://www.grantadesign.com/webseminars/2013/wind.htm http://www.grantadesign.com/webseminars/2013/wind.htm http://www.grantadesign.com/webseminars/2013/composites/ http://www.grantadesign.com/webseminars/2013/composites/ http://www.grantadesign.com/products/ces/casestudies.htm http://www.grantadesign.com/products/ces/casestudies.htm http://www.grantadesign.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #105 - June 2016